Wasn't Love, Blondie
by little princess 15
Summary: AU: Flynn wanted to steal the princess' crown, he never planned for the Princess herself to tag along. One thing is for certain; no one messes with Flynn Rider and he wasn't going to let this girl start now. He had to find a way to get rid of her, no matter the cost.
1. Break Free

**Prologue: Break Free**

 **I know I shouldn't be adding another story to my list considering I can barely mange with two, but this idea just won't leave my head and I had to get it out.**

 **If you are familiar with my writing I must warn you that this entire story will be much darker than any of the ones I've written. Featuring a slightly Dark!Flynn and a Not-So-Naive-Rapunzel; I plan to add some mature themes and play a little with our favorite characters in a way that would tell the story in a much more mature note. So, if fluff is what you're looking for this is definitely not the story for you.**

 **I don't know yet if the rating will change to M in the future chapters so be prepared okay? I'll let you know first if I plan to change it but for now it's a safe T.**

 **Okay, now that that's settled, let's start this. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: pfft if only I owned Tangled...**

* * *

 _Wanted to belong here_

 _But something felt so wrong here_

 _So I prayed_

 _I could break away._

 _~Breakaway_

* * *

"Rapunzel, dear, would you please stop daydreaming when I'm talking to you?"

Rapunzel started at her mother's slightly exasperated voice. Her eyes reluctantly settled over the Queen's elegant figure, her mouth quirked in a fond smile, although she appeared to be fighting her amusement to look a bit more stern if the slight frown on her brow was any indication.

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She had the habit of spacing out whenever something in particular held her interest, and her mother's boring droning wasn't doing anything to help her situation. What was she supposed to do when the bright colors of the flowers and chirping of the birds was far more interesting than whatever political matter her mother was babbling about? Of course, she wasn't about to tell her that.

"I'm not daydreaming, Mother. That would be _most unladylike_." She did her best to imitate her etiquette tutor's snobby accent. Those same words had been spoken to her a thousand times, along with the usual stern remarks about her posture. She could almost hear Mrs. McLean's voice telling her she was slouching, _again_.

Queen Anne pursed her lips against a smile. "Oh really? Then tell me, what was I just talking about?"

Rapunzel bit her lower lip, a guilty grin spreading on her face. Of course she hadn't been listening, she had been far more preoccupied with the exquisite blooming rosebuds and the fresh smell of pinewood the elegant palace gardens provided in the early afternoon, wondering which exact combination of colors would be best to capture the shade of amethyst in the blooming violets spreading over the grass in her canvass.

She tipped her head enough for her bonnet to hide her guilty smile. Holding her teacup with a display of impeccable manners her etiquette tutor would be proud of, she took a small sip of her tea, the warm liquid gliding through her throat was a pleasant distraction.

Her mother raised a questioning eyebrow, patiently waiting for her response. "Something or another about the Northern Kingdoms, perhaps?"

The Queen let out a defeated sigh. "Have you not been listening to absolutely anything I was just saying?" There was a slight edge to her voice that made Rapunzel's smile vanish. It was clear that her mother wasn't exactly looking forward to repeating everything she had just said and for some reason that made Rapunzel's stomach churn unpleasantly.

"As a matter of fact I _was_ listening. I just got lost when you started mentioning the council." And it was true, the moment her mother started talking about the council's meeting she had deliberately averted her attention from the already boring conversation and instead focused on whatever else was remotely more interesting than a bunch of old bitter men discussing political situations.

It wasn't that she was completely uninterested about the treaties and alliances going on between her kingdom and the neighboring nations, it was more the fact that she was becoming the object behind those alliances what bothered her.

Apparently she had missed the important part of the conversation. Queen Anne took a deep breath, her lips pursing until they became a thin line. "I was saying that today's meeting with the council was a success. Lord Everard insisted on pursuing a stronger alliance with the Northern Isles."

Wasn't that exactly what she had just guessed? She couldn't understand why there would be a reason to repeat the whole conversation all over again. Was it really that important? And if it was, it couldn't possibly be anything good. Rapunzel busied herself nibbling at the buttercream cupcakes the maids had provided for their impromptu tea party, hoping her mother's conversation would turn out as boring as she had predicted.

"The Kingdom of Cygnus graciously invited us to meet their prince, King Horace's youngest son; Prince William."

Rapunzel bit back an exasperated groan. She should have known this was were the conversation was going. Instead of voicing her not-so-pleasant thoughts, she merely lifted her eyebrows inquiringly. "Oh?"

Her mother continued unfazed. "Unfortunately, your father and I are much too busy at the moment, and we have no intention to send you on your own, of course."

She couldn't help rolling her eyes this time. Of course they wouldn't, they didn't let her go _anywhere_ on her own. She always had to be either accompanied by an escort or by the king and queen themselves. And they sure had never let her leave the kingdom for any circumstances. She supposed this was working on her advantage in this particular situation. She had no intentions of dealing with their excuse of political alliances all on her own. Rapunzel knew perfectly well what all this was about.

"That's why Lord Everard so conveniently suggested that we invite Prince William to spend a few days here in Corona."

Her short-lived relief instantly vanished. "What?" She exclaimed, aware of the hint of panic behind her slightly squeaky voice.

"King Horace has mentioned how much his youngest son would like to meet you, dear." Her mother smiled kindly, clearly missing or choosing to ignore Rapunzel's distress.

Rapunzel exhaled through her nose. "I bet he does." She muttered under her breath. Just like more than half the suitable bachelors and unmarried noble men in the surrounding kingdoms. They were all eager to meet the princess of Corona, only heir to the throne and promising young maiden. Just who were they trying to fool?

"Prince William is a respectable man, not much older than you, in fact." Her mother gave her a knowing look. The conspiratorial glint in her eyes was beginning to make her feel dizzy.

Rapunzel rose to her feet abruptly, accidentally rattling the fine porcelain tea set resting over the embroidered tablecloth.

"I'm not feeling well, Mother. It must be the afternoon sun, it's giving me a headache. If I may be excused..." She trailed off, already making a move to dart back towards the castle as fast as her legs would carry her.

However, her mother's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Rapunzel, you can't keep avoiding the subject forever, you know that?"

She knew that, of course she knew that. But that didn't mean she wasn't determined to try. "See you later, Mother." She replied curtly before heading towards the palace, her head held high as she walked without turning back towards her slightly baffled mother.

She didn't stop until she reached her bedchamber. Once she had locked the door, she walked over to her bed, slumping against the mattress with a defeated sigh. A cheerful chirping came from the corner of the room, and a little chameleon came creeping from the other side of the bed, stopping right next to her and resting his little head against her knee.

The corners of her mouth lifted in a small smile. "Hey, Pascal!" She cooed, scratching her finger against the smiling chameleon's head.

Pascal squeaked in reply. "I've missed you too." She giggled, wishing not for the first time that having a weird-looking lizard perched over her shoulder wasn't such an offending sight to the people in the palace. The bitter thought that not even her only real 'friend' in the world was allowed near her made her smile vanish, replaced by a gloomy scowl.

With a heavy sigh she stood up, taking her bonnet off her head and dumping it on the mattress behind her. She marched towards her vanity table, stopping to watch the mirror, her reflection staring back at her with an expression as hollow as her soul.

She was the picture of elegance and wealthiness, the perfect image of a rich girl, the proper noble lady she was raised to be. A princess through and through, born to be a queen. Her impossibly long golden locks were tied back in a combination of elegant plaits, forming one big braid cascading over her back and grazing her ankles. Her lavender gown was simple yet elegantly designed, sleeveless to accommodate her in the warm summer afternoons, but with fine embroidery over the bodice and a silk skirt long enough to barely show her feet. She wasn't very fond of jewelry, so she usually didn't wear much more than a simple golden necklace her parents had given her for her eighteenth birthday and a pair of little diamond earrings.

She had anything a girl would desire. So then why did she feel so miserable? A sudden urge to mess that perfect image overcame her, and soon she had her hands buried deep in her hair, her fingers carelessly disentangling the perfect braid her lady-in-waiting had so thoroughly tied that morning. Rapunzel's hair cascaded past her back, tumbling in a messy pile at her feet. She massaged her scalp, feeling strangely relieved as she kicked her slippers off her feet; she had always preferred to walk barefoot.

Her eyes swept over her vanity table looking for her hairbrush, but instead paused at the glinting sight of her tiara, resting gracefully over a purple velvet cushion. The shining diamonds blinking back at her seemed to be mocking her, reminding her of exactly who she was and what was her responsibility to her kingdom. The Crown Princess of Corona, who was still refusing to get married even though she should have announced an engagement a long time ago. Her betrothal was already a few years overdue, but she still refused to pick a husband. Something that seemed to be bothering the council to no end.

Sooner or later her parents would have to give in to the council's pressure, and announce her arranged marriage to the finest suitor they could find. She was beginning to suspect that was exactly the purpose of Prince William's spontaneous visit.

Pascal squeaked inquiringly from his spot on the mattress, looking over at her with a concerned frown on his reptilian features. Rapunzel smiled sadly. "I'm fine, Pascal. I just need some fresh air."

Making her way towards the floor-length windows on the side of the room, she opened the glass door leading to her balcony and stepped outside, letting the fresh breeze grace her face and sweep her hair. She took a deep breath and spread her arms, wishing the wind could carry her away to wherever it desired.

Her eyes roamed over the sight of the entire island at her feet, she could see anything from here, and she had to admit, the sight was beautiful. Her eyes lingered at the stone bridge leading towards the woods. That foreign destination she had never set foot on. Her parents didn't exactly keep her captive inside the palace's walls, they let her explore the village as long as she was always accompanied. But the bridge was off-limits, the woods the only thing she was under no circumstances allowed to explore. And despite her curious personality, she wasn't one to defy her parents' orders. So she had settled over the years with just admiring the vastness of the forest from afar, under the protection of her room. Freedom seemed so far away from over here.

She longed to explore the world, to run free through the canopy of trees enveloping the vast forest. To escape the palace's clutches and her parents' overprotective sight and finally allow herself to do whatever her heart desired. She longed for freedom, but that was the one thing she couldn't have.

As she gazed at the setting sun, the sky tainting with splashes of pink and purple hues, she smiled bitterly at herself. She was always waiting, but waiting for what, exactly? For her knight in shining armor? For her Prince Charming to come galloping on his white stallion and rescue her from her boring misery so they could both ride into the sunset together?

She snorted. Of course that wasn't going to happen. Rapunzel had learnt long ago that kind of stuff only happened on the fairy tales she had loved reading when she was younger. But she wasn't so naïve now. Her days of wishful thinking were long gone, disappearing with the wind along with her fading hope and a long list of dreams she once had believed could come true.

Like she could ever break free from her luxurious prison. Nevertheless she was somewhat content as long as she wasn't tied down. And that was a vow she made to herself as she gazed at the fading sun. They could keep her locked inside the palace, make her behave and act like the perfect princess she was supposed to be, but she was never going to subject to any man that came sauntering to claim her as his wife. She was a free spirit, she would never be tied down to any man she didn't love. Ever.

That was something she promised to herself, and she knew better than anyone that she never broke a promise.

She was ready to turn back and head inside when she saw a shadow moving out of the corner of her eye. She whirled around, her eyes darting back and forth across the balcony and its surroundings, but there was no hint of movement anywhere near. Rapunzel stood there for a moment longer, then shrugged and dismissed the thought. It probably was a bird that flew away just when she had been turning to leave.

With one last searching glance, she headed back inside her room, closing the glass door behind her with a dull thud. If she had stayed just a moment longer she would have been able to catch a glimpse of the shadow of a man climbing on the adjacent tower, right beside her balcony.

* * *

Flynn grunted as he pushed himself over the edge of the roof. He paused for a moment, panting as he tried to catch his breath, only to have it leave his lungs once more. As soon as he turned around he was mesmerized by the sight below him. The entire island of Corona and the vastness of the woods regarded him from bellow, the setting sun blinking back at him in the horizon, almost tempting him to race across the kingdom to catch the last rays of sunshine before they disappeared. It was sure a sight to behold.

"Woah, I could get used to a view like this." He muttered to himself, glad that no one could hear his almost breathless remark.

"Rider!"

Well, he sure could've enjoyed the view much better if he hadn't such undesired company. Not even bothering to turn around, he held up a hand, signaling the unpleasant man behind him to shut his mouth for a moment.

"Just a second. Yep, I'm used to it." He crossed his arms over his chest, a smug grin spreading over his face. "Guys I want a castle."

The idea hadn't crossed his mind until now, and he had mostly said it just to annoy his counterparts, but the thought of his own castle in an isolated island was quite appealing now that he thought about it.

"You get this crown, and then you get your castle." The burly redhead man muttered with a dark grin as he gestured over the edge of the building. Flynn rolled his eyes, heaving a dramatic sigh as he glimpsed towards the adjacent towers bellow. The job would have been so much easier if they hadn't changed the location of the goddamn crown in the first place.

The theft of the princess' crown would be the pinnacle of his thieving career. If they did this job right, his name would become legend for years to come; Flynn Rider, the best thief in the entire kingdom of Corona. They had planned this particular scheme for months, calculating every move, every secret passageway, every entrance and corner in the castle. The Stabbingtons had found a servant willing to act as their spy, giving them inside information about the location of the crown and the guards' patrolling shifts, even providing them with information of a few passages they could use to sneak into the palace undetected, all of this in exchange of a reasonable reward of course. One they were more than willing to pay. After all, the stolen crown would provide them with more money than they could have ever imagined to have.

Flynn grumbled to himself as he leapt over the rooftop towards the adjacent tower, his feet barely catching the edge of the windowsill protruding from the stone. They had had everything perfectly planned when the palace servant informed them of the unfortunate change of the crown's location, which had been conveniently moved from the throne room to none other than the Princess' bedchamber.

Flynn grunted once more, his hands scrapped against the hard stone as he slid from the tower's edge, getting closer and closer to his intended destination; the princess' balcony was already visible from where he dangled, his body precariously hanging from the stone bricks.

As he leapt across rooftops and slid through the rough tower's exterior, a hint of annoyance made its way to the pit of his stomach. If the spoiled little princess hadn't decided that she needed to admire more closely her precious crown, they wouldn't have had to change almost every aspect of their plan. Just another reminder of how much snob rich people annoyed him.

With one final graceful jump, he glided towards the balcony's marbled floor, landing in a crouch, his feet stealthily brushing the ground with not so much as a sound. Straightening, he brushed his hands against his pants, adjusting his satchel before marching towards the glass door that would lead him to the inside of the Princess' bedroom. If his sources were correct, the Princess would be enjoying a fine tea party with her mother on the other side of the palace for the whole afternoon. That would give him enough time to sneak into the room, take the crown and escape undetected. By the time someone realized the expensive tiara was missing, Flynn would be far enough away, on his merry way ready to finally leave Corona and his bitter memories behind. This crown would be his one-way ticket to his new life.

Now his only problem was to find a way to get rid of the Stabbington Brothers along the way. But that wouldn't be that difficult once he had what he wanted.

Flynn carefully opened the glass door, sighing softly in relief as it slid open without a single creak. He slipped inside, his footfalls soft and almost inaudible. Everything in his demeanor indicated his experienced years of thievery and mischief. This was only his last job, after this one he would finally be free. He couldn't fail.

The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by the very last rays of sunshine penetrating through the floor-length windows. His eyes didn't even have to search the room to find what he was looking for.

There it was, resting in all its glory over a fluffy velvet pillow. The enormous gems glinting with the sunlight, almost too magnificent to be real. The Princess' Crown.

Flynn's legs seemed to be moving on their own accord as he carefully approached the vanity table where the crown rested, his hands already itching to touch it, the answer to all his problem, his passage to his dreams. Unfortunately, in his astonishment, he missed the shadow creeping stealthily behind him. Maybe if he hadn't been so absorbed by the crown's elegant beauty, he would've noticed the slightly alarming trail of golden locks of hair curling all over the floor.

But Flynn was too preoccupied studying the magnificent crown to notice every dangerous hint telling him that something was about to go awfully wrong. He stretched his hands, his fingers almost touching the gleaming diamonds, when a distinctly female voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!"

He froze. An uncomfortable chill spread all over his limbs, as if someone had just dropped ice-cold water on his back. Wincing slightly, he braced himself for what was about to come. He didn't go through all this trouble just to be stopped now! Oh, no. He was going to fight whoever stood on his way, he _was_ going to steal that crown, whatever it took.

But this, oh _this_ was definitely not part of the plan.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the first glimpse of this story. Please let me know if you liked it, remember that reviews always encourage an author to keep writing ;)**

 **Also, be prepared guys. This will have nothing to do with Tangled's original lovable story. The fun is about to begin, so let me know what you think of this.**

 **Until next time!**


	2. Flynn Wanted

**Chapter 2: Flynn Wanted**

 **Hey there guys! So, we had a good start. I just want to thank all of those who were kind enough to leave a review, you rock guys, keep them coming!**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: I feel like we need to clear up some things, since someone mentioned Rapunzel was a bit too OOC (and I totally understand, my dear guest) but that was kind of the point. Like I warned you in the first chapter, I plan to mess a bit with the characters' personalities, so you can** _ **expect**_ **them to be a bit OOC sometimes. Let me elaborate why:**

 **Since this is an AU, I plan to experiment on how Rapunzel's personality would have developed if she had been raised by loving parents who actually encouraged her curiosity and exploring nature. So she obviously won't be the same naive, innocent girl we see in the movie, but a much more mature young woman. You can expect her to be a bit sassy and witty at times, (especially when it comes to interacting with Flynn) and as we can see in the movie, she tends to be incredibly stubborn when it comes to getting what she wants. That's not to say she will be a completely different character, there will still be traits from her original personality, like her loving nature and sweet demeanor. Okay? Good, now that we're clear on that... I won't even elaborate about Flynn at the moment, that's a completely different story. Just don't even expect a glimpse of lovable, sweet Eugene for now.**

 **Phew! Long AN. I'm sorry for that, let's get on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: nope, don't own Tangled.**

* * *

 _My mind is a warrior_

 _My heart is a foreigner_

 _My eyes are the color of red like the sunset._

 _~ Grade 8_

* * *

Flynn felt his body go rigid as he slowly turned around, his hands raised in a fake innocent gesture, but ready to leap into action should the situation turn for the worse.

He wasn't expecting the sight that met his gaze at all.

He and the Stabbingtons had discussed the million possibilities of their plan going wrong, and had come up with quick easy solutions to whatever situation interfered with their scheme. Flynn was ready to fight off guards, knock out unsuspecting intruding servants and get rid of whatever came up his way that would in any way prevent him from stealing the crown.

He wasn't expecting, however, to meet the Princess of Corona herself.

Standing there, with the sunlight illuminating her soft features and making her long blonde hair gleam like gold, he couldn't help but notice her stunning beauty. Of course, he would've liked it better if her pretty face wasn't darkened by that deep frown and narrowed eyes. Her stance was defensive as she held a - was that a candleholder?- protectively over her head.

As soon as he turned around, her squinting eyes widened in recognition, a soft gasp escaping her mouth.

"Y-you're... Flynn Rider!" She exclaimed, her wide green eyes darting around the room as if she was looking for a route to escape. Or maybe she was just determining which object in her room would be more useful to defend herself other than the candleholder she still clutched tightly in her hand.

Flynn tried a cheeky smile, holding his hands up in a calming gesture as he took a tentative step forward. "Now, let's just calm down, okay Princess?"

"I-I know who you are, and I-I'm not afraid of you!"

The blonde's wide eyes narrowed as the frown settled back on her brow, replacing the startled look on her face. She still took a step back, holding the candleholder defensively in front of her.

"W-what are you doing here? What do you want?" Her voice trembled slightly, although he did notice the authoritative hint behind it. She tried to keep calm and maintain the firm look on her face, but he recognized that gleam of fear in her emerald eyes. He couldn't risk her panicking.

"Shh, it's okay. You just keep quiet, don't call the guards, and everything's going to go just fine." He tried to make his voice sound as soft and soothing as he could manage, but that didn't seem to calm down the startled princess.

"What do you want?" She demanded more firmly this time. Flynn fought the urge to roll his eyes. He really didn't have time to deal with this right now.

He took a step closer, and she instantly retreated a step back, her eyes widening slightly as she let a speck of apprehension slip past her mask of firm determination. He needed to calm her down before she started calling for the guards.

"Look, I'm not going to harm you if you just-"

"Don't come any closer or I'll...!" She exclaimed, holding the candleholder protectively before her with both hands.

Flynn smirked. "Or what? You'll use that candlestick against me?" He asked mockingly, nodding towards the princess' trembling hands.

Apparently that was a mistake. The princess' eyes narrowed once more, her lips pursing as her brows furrowed indignantly. "No. I'll just let the guards take care of you instead."

He didn't miss the threatening hint in her voice. He scowled as the princess took a daring step forward, still holding that damn candlestick as if it was her most lethal weapon. "Now, I'll ask again; what are you doing here?"

Flynn scoffed. "Well, isn't it obvious, _Princess_?" He spit the last word out venomously. He didn't have time to spare, and this obnoxious girl was wasting a lot of it. "I'm a thief, what do you think I'm here for?"

For some reason, her hand instantly dropped to clutch a thick strand of golden hair tightly between her fingers. "And what are you planning to take, _thief_?" She asked with equal contempt, although he didn't miss the spark of fear still hiding behind her bold stare.

Flynn took a step back, silently getting closer toward the vanity table where the precious crown rested. "Look, this can either be as easy or as hard as you make it." His hand searched behind him, his fingertips brushing the edge of the wooden furniture. "I'll just take that crown and leave as fast as I came. We'll never have to see each other again, and we can both forget this little incident ever happened."

The girl's green eyes darted towards the crown, now dangerously near Flynn's reach, and her stare hardened slightly. "I'm afraid that won't be. I can't let you take that crown." She stated firmly, clutching a thick strand of hair with one hand and the candleholder with the other.

Flynn let out an exasperated sigh. "And how are you planning to stop me?" He was so close, _so close_ he could almost taste the victory, but no! The stupid princess just _had_ to stand on his way. Well, he wasn't going to let her.

It was the princess' turn to smirk dangerously. "Like this!"

He barely had time to jump out of the way as the princes swung the candlestick directly towards his face. Flynn held out his hand protectively in front of him as the candlestick whooshed dangerously near where his nose would've been a few seconds ago. The princess raised her hand, ready to strike once more, and Flynn dropped into a crouch as she brought the candlestick down, missing again just by mere inches.

"Fine! If that's how you want it..." He muttered darkly, kicking his leg out and hooking it around the princess' exposed ankle, knocking her off balance as he tugged slightly.

The princess fell down with a yelp, and Flynn swiftly leapt to his feet once more, wasting no time to make his way toward the magnificent tiara.

"You can't take that crown!" She exclaimed as she clutched a thick strand of hair in between her fingers.

Flynn shot her an exasperated look over his shoulder. "Oh c'mon, you must have dozens of them! How is this going to make a difference?!"

He didn't notice the lock of hair curling tightly around his boot. "That crown is special for me!" She tugged sharply at the strand of hair clutched in her fist, and Flynn gasped as he felt the floor disappear from beneath his feet.

He hit the ground with a pained grunt. Flynn's eyes widened slightly, a hint of surprise making its way into his stomach as he lifted himself, resting his weight over his forearms. He had to admit, he was more than quite impressed with this girl. Not anyone had the guts to actually put up a fight against him. But the situation was quickly spiraling out of his control and that was something he couldn't have.

He decided to try his ultimate weapon, the situation was clearly asking for it.

A charming grin made its way into Flynn's features. "You know, I actually like a good fight, and you are quite determined, I'll give you that." He made sure his voice came out husky and flirty enough, his grin turning into a seductive smirk as he regarded the princess carefully. She seemed bewildered by his sudden change of attitude.

"You've definitely gained my..." He wouldn't say respect, of course. "admiration, Princess." His winning smirk widened at the princess' obvious astonishment.

But her surprise didn't last long, and soon her eyes narrowed again. "Well, you haven't gained mine, funnily enough." With another sharp tug at the strand of hair still curled around his boot, she dragged him a few feet across the floor, bringing him farther away from his intended destination.

The princess quickly jumped to her feet, stepping over his body as she marched toward her vanity table in an attempt to reach the crown first.

A surge of annoyance burbled inside him. Okay, enough was enough. "Oh no, you don't." He barely had time to think about it, his hand searched the floor for whatever object would come in handy, when his fingers brushed over the silky strands of hair littering the ground. He noticed the golden locks conveniently curling near the princess' bare feet, and he gave a sharp tug.

She stumbled over her own feet as she tripped with the loose golden locks curling around her. The princess fell down with a startled yelp, hitting the side of her head against the corner of the table on her way down.

"Damn!" Flynn winced. The princess' still body laid in a crumpled state next to the vanity table, her golden hair curling around her like an ethereal halo.

He crawled over to her, quickly examining her for any outstanding injury. It would be easy to imagine she was asleep now that her soft features appeared so peaceful compared to a few minutes ago.

"Princess?" Flynn nudged her a bit more sharply than absolutely necessary. The blonde's hair lolled to the side, clearly indicating her state of unconsciousness. "Princess!" He prodded at her a bit more insistently, only getting a faint groan in response.

He heaved an exasperated sigh. He was wasting too much time. He stood once more, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he regarded the princess' unconscious body. He could very well leave her there, take the crown and escape as fast as his legs would carry him, but he couldn't risk her waking up. He was sure if she did, this time she wouldn't hesitate to call the guards.

His eyes swept over the neatly organized room, looking for something to help him bind the princess. Ideally he would look for a rope, but his eyes instantly caught the gleaming impossibly long strands of hair. He only had a moment to marvel at the ridiculous length the princess apparently liked to keep her hair, before he jumped into action. Gathering the loose locks of hair, he quickly tied them around the princess' limp body, binding her tightly from shoulders to feet. He looked across the room, spotting a handkerchief over the nightstand that he gladly used to gag the girl before him. Now, she wouldn't cause any more trouble.

Grumbling under his breath, he rose to his feet, ready to take the crown once and for all. However, before he could even take two steps forward, he felt a disturbingly sticky thing burying in his ear.

"Gah!" Flynn yelped, jumping in surprise before whirling around to look for his mysterious attacker. "What the...?" His eyes stumbled over a peculiar looking lizard perched on his left shoulder. If he didn't know any better he'd swear the weird frog was glaring at him.

"Get off me!" He muttered crossly, carelessly brushing the squeaking frog off with a flick of his hand. Could this situation get any more bizarre?

He rapidly crossed the room with two long steps, not wasting any more time to admire the crown as he swiftly tucked it inside his satchel. The sense of victory was clearly overshadowed by the feeling of apprehension trickling over him.

Along the many things that had gone wrong with the plan, there was one mistake he couldn't ignore. They were supposed to leave no witnesses behind. It was crucial for their succeed that no one recognized them until they were far enough away to leave the kingdom safely. He already had a long list of crimes tainting his name, the theft of the Princess' crown would only put an even more bountiful reward on his head. He had to escape Corona before the entire kingdom found out about his linking to the theft of the crown, otherwise no one would grant him passage outside the kingdom with a prize like that hanging over his head.

He pursed his lips in annoyance as he carefully regarded the princess' limp body. The Stabbingtons would have no problem with getting rid of any witnesses, murder wasn't a crime they were unfamiliar with. But Flynn couldn't damn well get rid of the princess, now could he? Of all the people that had to cross his way, why would it have to be this girl?!

When the princess woke up, she would waste no time in telling who exactly had stolen the crown and knocked her unconscious in the process. He couldn't afford that, he had to escape the kingdom before the guards found out.

Flynn cursed under his breath, his hands burying in his hair as he considered his options. He had no more time to spare.

"Dammit!" He grunted as he leaned over the princess' limp form, lifting her up with one agile movement and placing her over his shoulder. He would surely regret this later, but he didn't have time to think over his actions right now.

In his haste, he failed to notice the weird reptilian crawling onto the blonde's body, securing himself with a thin strand of golden hair over the unconscious princess' shoulder.

Silently cursing his luck, Flynn crossed the room with swift stealthy footsteps, his arm tightly curled over the princess' waist. Her petite, lean body wasn't heavy enough to put a strain on him, but carrying her over his shoulder would definitely slow him down. This was _so_ not part of the plan!

He pushed the glass door open, quickly sliding out into the balcony and successfully exiting the princess' bedchamber somewhat unnoticed. He wished he wasn't carrying the only witness to his crime with him. He made his way to the edge of the balcony, where a rope was already awaiting him, tied securely onto the short marbled column supporting the balcony's balustrade. The Stabbingtons were surely already waiting for him below. And they certainly wouldn't be happy about his delay.

He tried the rope, tugging at it firmly to make sure it wouldn't untie with his added weight. When he was sure it was safe, he carefully climbed over the balustrade, his left arm tightening securely around the princess' thin waist while his right hand clutched the rope firmly. He quickly made his way down, the rope burning the skin of his hand as he swiftly slid over the palace's stone walls. His feet safely hit the ground after what felt like ages to him.

Flynn barely had time to heave a relived sigh before a familiar voice was hissing angrily behind him.

"What the hell took you so long?!" One of the twins muttered angrily, his narrowed eyes widening as he noticed the unconscious body accompanying him.

"What the _fuck_ , Rider!" The redheaded man hissed dangerously, taking a menacing step towards Flynn. "This was _not_ part of the plan!"

"Well I wasn't exactly planning for this to happen, but she recognized me!" Flynn rolled his eyes, already making a move to leave. However, the twin with the eyepatch blocked his way. "You did say not to leave any witnesses."

"But we never agreed to kidnap the princess!"

Flynn scowled. "And if we don't get going, the only thing we'll accomplish is to get ourselves arrested." He grumbled, nodding his head impatiently toward the hidden entrance where they had slipped in. "Let's go!"

He didn't wait for their approval before darting toward the exit, the dead weight of the princess' limp body over his shoulder was already slowing him down considerably. He mentally kicked himself. How worse could this situation get?

* * *

In hindsight, kidnapping the princess had given him the perfect excuse he didn't know he needed to get rid of the Stabbington brothers.

By the time they had reached the Fountain Square near the docks, he'd already had enough of the princess' limp weight. The streets were already mostly empty as nighttime approached. The faint light the twilight provided casted prominent shadows in which it was easy to disappear and remain unnoticed. They darted across empty alleyways and deserted shortcuts, thankfully hidden by the shadows as dusk rapidly fell over the kingdom.

Flynn had suggested they got horses to travel through the woods more quickly - the royal guards wouldn't take long to notice the princess and the crown had gone missing, and he couldn't exactly carry the princess all the way through the woods on his own- they didn't have much time left. He volunteered to be the one to steal the horses from an old, rickety stable next to the butcher's shop. Yep, he was going to steal a horse alright. And then he was going to leave the twins of terror behind.

Of course, the Stabbingtons hadn't trusted him enough to let him leave without the guarantee that he would come back, and since he couldn't exactly steal a horse while carrying the princess' body over his shoulder, he had left her behind with the twins. They were more interested in selling the crown, and both were still rather adamant about the whole kidnapping of the princess of Corona. He knew they wouldn't leave without the crown, even if the princess was a much more valuable piece. They wouldn't risk getting caught with theprincess' unconscious body while trying to escape.

But that was his thing, stealthiness was his speciality, and he had already gone too far to retreat now. Even if the princess' added company was something he'd rather not have.

He slipped out of the stable as silently as possible, tugging at the horse's reins to make the animal walk obediently beside him. Before he turned the corner, he left the brown horse behind, hidden out of view as he kept walking towards the Stabbingtons' hiding spot. He found them just where he'd left them, the princess' limp form resting over the ground before their feet, still bound by the hair he had carefully tied around her body. He smirked triumphantly.

"Well, let's go. I got the horses waiting for us just around the corner." He easily lifted the blonde over his shoulder once more, nodding impatiently towards the spot where he'd left the single stolen horse. The Stabbingtons shared a skeptical look, their arms crossed menacingly over their chests, but they followed him nonetheless. He was careful to keep a reasonable distance between him and the burly twins.

He rounded the corner before they caught up with him, and quickly hefted the princess' body over the horse's saddle before climbing behind her, securing an arm tightly over her waist as he took the reins with his free hand.

A cocky smirk settled on his lips as he saw the Stabbingtons rounding the corner, their eyes instantly narrowing at the sight before them.

"That's just one horse, pretty boy." One of the twins muttered darkly, his hand fingering the sword secured over his back. "Where are the others?"

Flynn's arrogant smirk widened as he tugged at the reins. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was only able to steal this one." Digging the heels of his boots against the horse's side, he snapped at the reins, making the animal break into a gallop.

"Guess you'll have to walk!" He called mockingly over his shoulder, a swell of satisfaction settling deep inside him as he reveled in the twins' flabbergasted faces.

"RIDER!"

He sniggered as he lead the horse towards the stone bridge that would lead him to the woods. He was so close to freedom, so close to finally fulfilling his dream. No one would stop him now.

His smirk vanished as he glanced down. Of course, he'd have to find a way to get rid of the intruding princess along the way.

He managed to cross the stone bridge partially unnoticed. He was aware of the few sailors and fishermen lingering along the docks that had surely spotted him, but with the dusk's faint light, it would be hard to recognize him.

However, as fate would have it, his luck wouldn't last much longer. He'd barely managed to slip into the canopy of trees that spread across the vast forest when he heard the distinct sound of galloping hooves hitting the ground and the guards' urgent cries. His time had run out.

"Stop, on behalf of the King!"

Pfft, as if! He snapped at the reins, urging the horse to go faster as he heard the approaching guards. He was glad the shadows the trees provided enveloped them in an almost total darkness. They wouldn't be able to recognize him like this.

He heard the telltale whooshing sound, and soon a pair of arrows dug into a tree dangerously close to him. But he wasn't deterred by the threat. He knew they wouldn't risk shooting directly at him for fear of harming the princess traveling with him. Nope, their threats wouldn't discourage him.

He was glad to notice the guards were falling behind as he rode the horse through denser territory, the prominent branches and tree roots sprouting out from the brushwood-covered ground made it difficult to maneuver, but Flynn was determined to lose them.

However, to his dismay, he suddenly noticed the princess' body tightly held under his arm shifting back to consciousness. He cursed under his breath as he took another sharp turn to the left, riding the horse blindly through the dense forest.

"Hmm...?" The princess mumbled incoherently, her eyes slowly drifting open and blinking several times in confusion. When her hazy stare focused on him, her eyes widened in shock.

"Mmph!" Her startled voice came out muffled by the gag she still had around her mouth. Flynn rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You know, you've already interfered enough. I'd really appreciate it if you stopped squirming!"

The princess was either too panicked to pay attention or chose to ignore him. She tried kicking her legs out of her tightly bounded hair, all while screaming through her gag.

Flynn scowled; he really wasn't in the mood to deal with the princess while trying to escape the guards at the same time. He tightened his arm around her waist as she struggled to free herself from his firm grip.

"Hmmph!" She screamed desperately, her fake bravado was now replaced by a panicked wide-eyed stare as she struggled to break free.

"Would you stop that?" Flynn snapped, his hand tightly clutching the horse's reins while he struggled with maneuvering the horse through the dense woods. "You'll just manage to throw yourself off the horse, and believe me, that won't be pretty."

The princess frowned indignantly, her offended glare indicating him that she wasn't enjoying this situation either.

Well, neither was him, to be honest.

He chanced a glance over his shoulder, relieved to notice only three guards remained chasing behind him.

His satisfied smirk vanished as he recognized the Captain of the Guards leading the small group, his incredibly stubborn horse keeping up with Flynn's attempts at loosing them through the woods.

"W-what are you doing?! Help!" His head snapped back down to the struggling princess, who had managed to get free of the gag that now hung loosely around her neck. "HEEELP!"

Why, wasn't this just great? Just what he needed; a screaming princess. He groaned exasperatedly.

"Let me go!" The princess demanded, squirming against his grip even more insistently than before.

Flynn's lips pursed in annoyance as he directed the horse to jump through a pair of intertwined tree trunks, managing to lose two of the remaining guards in the process. Unfortunately for him, the Captain's horse was doing a great job at keeping up with him. He needed to get rid of the Captian, and fast.

"Stop right where you are!" The Captian barked as he shot another arrow that landed disturbingly close to him. The princess yelped loudly as he gave another sharp turn in an attempt to lose his pursuer.

"Let me go!" Flynn shot her an annoyed glare, snapping at the reins and urging the horse to go faster. "Help me!"

The idea of just tossing the girl off the horse for the Captain to rescue was a tempting one. But no, he needed a better plan.

"Shut up!" Flynn hissed, his patience was really running thin, and the princess' squirming and loud screams where quite distracting to say the least.

He needed to think. What to do, what to do, what to do...? His eyes regarded the princess' long strands of hair thoughtfully. He glanced over his shoulder once more, noticing with satisfaction that the Captain was still far behind, but not far enough for his comfort. His eyes shot back to the struggling princess.

He shrugged. Well, it was worth the try.

With quick, agile fingers he disentangled the tight knot he had tied the princess' hair into, managing to loosen the locks curled tightly around the girl's body.

The princess' eyes widened in surprise. Flynn frowned slightly.

"Don't even think about it." He warned as he recognized the gleam of hope illuminating her wide stare. "If you try to escape now, you'll only fall off the horse, and I assure you, that would be quite a painful experience."

The princess scowled indignantly. He ignored her reproachful glare as he took a thick strand of hair, clutching it tightly in his fist. He looked around carefully, determining which thick branch would be sturdy enough. Pulling lightly at the reins, he slowed the horse's pace down as he threw the golden locks, the thick strands catching and curling around a branch dangling near them.

"W-what are you doing?!"

"Hush." Flynn grunted as he pulled at the lock of hair clutched tightly in his fist. The princess surely wouldn't like it if he told her that her hair was an incredibly useful replacement for a rope. The branch tied to the golden hair strained back with the force, tensing until it wouldn't go back further without breaking.

He waited for the precise moment, until the Captain and his horse were close enough. Just as the Captian was getting dangerously close, his body galloping right in front of the branch, Flynn let go. The branch snapped back into place, smacking the Captain of the Guards right across the face in the process, knocking him off his horse. Just like Flynn had predicted.

"Ha!" He cheered victoriously, while snapping at the horse's reins, making the animal break into a fast gallop once more.

"Hey!" The princess was definitely not happy by the outcome of the situation. "That was incredibly rude, something could've have happened to him! What if he's injured?"

Flynn rolled his eyes. "One less guard to worry about, then."

"Let me go!" The princess scowled, her mouth pursing into a thin line.

Flynn glared back. "Nope."

A furious neigh made him turn his attention back. The Captian's white stallion was still stubbornly following him. Flynn let out an angry sigh. That damned horse was as stubborn and annoying as his rider.

"Look out!" The princess gasped loudly, a terrified look settling on her face. He squinted in the dark, trying to make out what exactly had startled her so much. The sight that met him made his heart leap to his throat.

"Whoa!" He pulled at the reins with both hands, willing the horse to stop completely before they toppled over the precipice they were dangerously approaching.

The horse came to an abrupt halt, stopping just before the edge of the cliff. Unfortunately, in his desperate attempt to pull at the reins, Flynn disregarded his tight hold on the princess.

Due to the forceful stop, - and her inability to hold onto something with her hair still curling loosely around her - the princess went flying off the horse. Her terrified scream seemed to echo all around the woods.

"Aaaaah!" Time seemed to stop as he watched as if in slow motion, helpless to do anything as her body leapt over the edge of the precipice, her hair coming undone and fluttering in the wind. He only had a glimpse of her terrified face, before she disappeared out of sight.

Flynn bit his bottom lip anxiously. This wasn't exactly his idea of getting rid of the princess. Hopping off the horse in one swift motion, he raced forward to look over the cliff's edge. He was acutely aware of the furious stallion still determined to catch him as soon as he got the chance, but for now, he had more important matters to attend.

"HEEELP!" He didn't know whether to be relieved or worried by her terrified cry. He chanced a look down, sighing in relief as he caught a glimpse of her body dangling from a fallen tree trunk, her hands clutched tightly around a rather thin branch. "Please, someone help me!"

Well, wasn't this convenient? Just when he thought this situation couldn't possibly get worse, the princess gladly proved him wrong.

Flynn jumped forward, his agile feet landing stealthily over the sturdy tree trunk. He barely had time to take a step forward when that annoying furious neigh interrupted his concentration.

He glanced back over his shoulder, only to be met by the white horse's furious gaze, getting ready to jump right behind him.

"Goddammit!" Flynn grunted. Was the crown really worth all this trouble?He crouched slightly, carefully balancing his body as he cautiously approached the princess' dangling body. Her wide terrified eyes met his, and a disturbing gleam darkened her gaze.

"Get away from me! Don't get any closer!" She cried out, her arms trembling with the effort of holding herself up.

Flynn scoffed. "You're really not in a position to get demanding, Princess."

The princess glared despite her obvious terror. "This is all your fault! Don't get near me!"

The tree trunk trembled dangerously. Flynn looked back, and to his utter dismay, the white horse had successfully landed over the trunk, already approaching the pair as the wood creaked and groaned with the added weight.

Flynn knelt carefully, holding onto the trunk tightly with one hand while extending his other arm for the princess to take.

"Look, I'm only trying to help here." He waved his hand impatiently. The approaching horse's hooves made the wood crunch disturbingly. "You don't have much of a choice, so just take my hand."

The princess hesitated for a moment, before extending a trembling hand toward him. Flynn stretched his body, reaching for the princess' outstretched arm as he looked over his shoulder; the white stallion was way too close for his liking.

His fingers brushed hers, and just when he thought he could close his hand around hers, the tree trunk crunched loudly, trembling under their weight with a telltale groan.

"Uh-oh..." Their eyes met, hers wide and panicked and his narrowing with a grimace.

The trunk gave out underneath them, and they fell with a terrified scream.

* * *

Flynn felt the air leave his lungs as his body hit the ground painfully. The fall had surely seemed longer than it must have actually been, but to him it felt like ages before he had landed face down into the dirt below.

He slowly turned himself with a pained groan. That would certainly leave a nasty bruise. He didn't have much time to recover when he suddenly remembered the source of all his problems.

"Princess?" He leapt to his feet with one swift jump, looking around for the distinct pile of golden locks.

Sure enough, he spotted the long strands of hair a few feet away, already moving quickly farther away from him. The princess should be close enough.

He followed the moving locks until he found her, trying to gather the loose strands of hair into her arms while walking quickly in an attempt to escape before he noticed she was gone.

He frowned, moving swiftly behind her and closing the gap between them, his hand closing around her mouth, muffling her startled cry.

"Where do you think you're going?" He muttered in her ear as she struggled against his tight grip.

His eyes swept over the dark forest, searching for the crazy horse. He didn't have time to look for it, but he knew it would be circling around the area looking for them. He had to get out of here.

Dragging the struggling princess with him, he quickly hid behind a big boulder as he heard the distinct sound of hooves and that furious neigh. How could he possibly get rid of that annoying horse?

"Hmmph!" The princess cried, her voice muffled behind his hand. He shot her an annoyed look.

"Would you shu- ouch!" He yelped, snatching his hand back and rubbing it against his chest. "You bit me!"

"Well, you wouldn't let me go!" She exclaimed indignantly, still struggling against the arm holding her tightly against his chest. Flynn rolled his eyes.

"I didn't go through all this trouble just to let you go now." His free hand searched the vine-covered boulder behind them, trying to rest his body against it only to have it almost fall back into what seemed like a hole in the rock.

He gasped, looking back and snatched open the curtain of vine, revealing what seemed like a dark cave hidden on the other side. He smirked triumphantly; this was _just_ what he needed.

The furious neigh grew closer, and he didn't waste more time before he dragged the still squirming princess with him, crossing the vine curtain as they were engulfed into the darkness of the cave.

"Where are you- mmph!" He closed his hand over the princess' mouth again, successfully muffling her voice as he leaned his back against the cave's wall. The crazy horse lingered behind the curtain of vine hiding them from view, and he waited with bated breath until the stallion's huffs faded in the distance.

The princess mumbled incoherently behind his hand, and he slowly removed it from her face, his arm loosening his grip around her waist.

"Where are we?" She asked skeptically, her eyes darting across the dark cave.

"Guess we are about to find out." He muttered distractedly as he lead her towards the faint light at the other side of the cave. The roaring sound of rushing water indicated there was probably a river nearby.

This time she didn't struggle much as he lead her across the cave, the rushing sound of water only getting louder as they approached the cave's mouth.

Flynn came to an abrupt halt as they exited the cave, his mouth hanging slightly open in surprise.

Of all the things he would have expected, a clearing in the middle of nowhere with an enormous tower constructed right beside a rushing waterfall wasn't one of them.

* * *

 **Ooh, ready for the interesting part to begin? I wonder how these two will get along under this particular situation... anyone else curious?**

 **Please let me know what you think, it's always good to know what the readers think, and reviews are really important to let me know if you are liking this story, and if I should continue writing it or change anything.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the second chapter ;) (remember, more reviews, faster updates *wink wink*)**


	3. Blackmail

**Chapter 3: Blackmail**

 **Hey there my dear readers! I can see this story's had a lot of views, so I can only hope you're all liking this new idea of mine. Also a** _ **huge**_ **thank you to the ones who reviewed, seriously I love your feedback, it helps with my inspiration ;)**

 **Now, let's see how our favorite couple interact with each other, shall we? Remember what I said about Dark!Flynn? Good, because he'll make an appearance in this chapter. You are warned.**

 **Disclaimer: nope, still don't own Tangled.**

* * *

 _Oh, I'm a mess right now, inside out_

 _Searching for a sweet surrender_

 _but this is not the end._

 _~ I'm a Mess_

* * *

Flynn stared almost breathlessly, the sight before him too perfect to be real. What were the odds of stumbling upon an isolated tower hidden in the middle of the forest just when he needed to find a hideout?

"Why, aren't we lucky today?" An incredulous smirk settled on his face as he dragged the disgruntled princess behind him, his hand tightly clutched over her arm.

She lifted an eyebrow, clearly appalled by his choice of words. "You almost got us killed!"

"Details." He waved his hand dismissively, not bothering to look back at her. "Besides, that was totally not my fault. It was that crazy horse."

He could almost hear her rolling her eyes. She stayed silent nonetheless, as he walked briskly towards the imposing tower, the tip of the roof barely visible against the dark starlit sky above. The almost unnatural calmness surrounding the tower gave off an unsettling vibe.

The grass crunched beneath their feet as they approached, that being the only sound interrupting the serenity of the clearing beside the rushing sound of the waterfall. Beside him, the princess gasped in what he could only describe as delighted surprise.

"Pascal!"

He stopped on his tracks, looking over his shoulder towards the princess, who was holding a weirdly familiar tiny green animal on her hands.

The damned frog that had attacked him back in the palace!

"H-how did _that_ get here?!"

The princess seemed to be wondering the same thing. "What are you doing here, Pascal?" She cooed softly, as if the squeaking animal could understand her. Flynn watched incredulously as the weird-looking frog squeaked back in response.

"Wait... That frog is yours?" He asked, a feeling akin to dread settling deep inside his stomach. He really hoped he wouldn't have to deal with another crazy animal just when he had managed to get rid of one a few minutes ago.

"It's a _chameleon_." The princess nodded, her bright green eyes turning to glare at him for his lack of tact. "And he has a name, you know?"

She held her cupped hands toward him, granting him better view of the tiny reptilian resting on her palms. "Pascal, this is... Flynn Rider, our kidnapper." She introduced rather awkwardly, and the frog growled in response, its wide eyes narrowed into what he could only call a menacing glare. "Flynn, this is Pascal."

Flynn's eyebrow lifted skeptically, unsure of how to react to that weird introduction. "Um... Hi...?"

The weird lizard growled, its green scales turning an alarming shade of red. Great, another animal who apparently hated him.

"How did he get here anyway?" He asked, trying to divert the attention. The frog's intense glare was unsettling him quite a bit, if he was honest.

The princess turned to address her little pet. "How did you manage to find us, Pascal?" The frog chirped back, as if he could actually hold a conversation with the blonde girl. Flynn watched in amazement as the princess hummed and nodded, apparently understanding every squeak coming from the lizard's mouth. He had never been so weirded out in his life.

After a few awkward moments of their strange conversation, the princess' eyes finally turned back to him. "He says he managed to tie himself to a lock of my hair before you dragged my unconscious body out of the palace." She explained, her wide eyes narrowing slightly. "How rude of you, by the way."

He was left speechless for a moment, completely flabbergasted by her apparent ability to speak with her pet frog. He blinked incredulously a few times, before finally finding his voice again. "Yeah, right. Whatever."

He turned around, ready to start his way towards the tower once more. He tried not to look back as he heard the princess chattering with her tiny frog, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Great, not only was he stuck with the princess, but she _had_ to be crazy as well. As if his day hadn't been bizarre enough already.

"That was really clever of you, Pascal." She praised. He could hear the already familiar squeaks coming from the frog now perched over her shoulder. "I _know_! Wasn't that terrifying?" The princess exclaimed enthusiastically, gushing about God knows what with the lizard. Another faint chirp, and then; "Yeah, I thought so too. But he doesn't seem like such a menacing guy..."

He had to strain his ears to be able to hear that last part of the bizarre conversation, and he resisted the urge to snort at her words. Oh, he could be quite menacing alright, he just wasn't feeling like he had the need to be at the moment. Yep, that was it.

Besides, he had way more pressing matters at hand. Like finding out a way to get rid of the annoying princess before she and her crazy pet frog managed to drive him insane.

They finally reached the base of the tower, and Flynn looked up, his gaze contemplative as he silently wondered exactly how tall the imposing building was, and how long it would take them to reach the top.

"Do you reckon it's abandoned?"

The princess shrugged nonchalantly, her indifference was almost unnerving after the fight she had put up with him barely a few minutes ago. "It would appear so."

He eyed her suspiciously before his scrutinizing gaze returned to the base of the building. He started circling the area, carefully searching for a hidden entrance behind the wall of vine growing over the stone. He could hear the princess' light footsteps following behind him.

His eyes finally stumbled upon a patch of wood contrasting with the grey stone, the speck of reddish brown barely visible beneath the vine.

"Found it!" He muttered victoriously, a satisfied grin spreading over his face as he set to work on removing the vine growing at the base of the tower. He tried to ignore the princess' murmurs as she talked with the frog in hushed secretive tones.

After much struggling, swearing and a few scratches and cuts now covering the skin on his hands, -courtesy of the thorns sticking out from the vine - he finally managed to uncover a rickety old wooden door.

His hands rested carefully over the worn wood, dusty and moldy after probably years from being buried within the vine wall. He tried the rusty door knocker, the metal scraping beneath his fingers and groaning in protest as he gave a sharp pull. After a few tries the door finally opened, its hinges creaking loudly at the sudden movement.

A cloud of dust fluttered from within the new opening, the musty smell coming from the inside and the spiderwebs littering the doorframe and the stone wall clearly indicating that the tower had probably been abandoned for years, if not decades.

Flynn coughed slightly, waving his hand to dissipate the specks of dust swirling in the cool night breeze. Behind him, he could hear the princess sneeze, the sound she emitted would have seemed almost adorable in other circumstances. He dismissed the ridiculous thought before whirling around to face her.

"Ladies first." He bowed his head mockingly, gesturing towards the tower's dark entrance. The princess' eyes widened in shock.

"It's too dark!" She protested vehemently. "You can't expect me to get inside there first, we don't even know what might be inside that tower!"

Flynn rolled his eyes. " _Nothing_ will be inside that tower, it's clearly been abandoned for ages."

"Well, then _you_ go in first." The princess crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. He snorted.

"Yeah, sure. And then you can try to escape again while you're behind me and I can't see a damn thing, right? I don't think so."

He waved his hand impatiently toward the opened door. "After you, _your highness_."

The princess eyed the dark entrance hesitantly, the apprehension evident in her face as she bit her lower lip nervously. He tried not to notice, of course.

Her wide green eyes turned back to him, regarding him with a pleading stare that almost broke his resolve. He frowned and nodded firmly toward the door, silently urging her forward.

"I'll be right behind you." He tried to reassure her, his poor attempt sounding lame to his own ears.

The princess took a deep shaky breath before stepping forward, letting the darkness ahead engulf her completely as she disappeared through the moldy threshold. He followed behind her, that same musty smell only getting sharper as he entered the dark tunnel, assaulting his nostrils and making his nose twitch. The princess sneezed again somewhere in front of him.

"I-I can't see a thing." She whispered faintly, he could hear the breath hitching in her throat as she tried to control her growing fear. And she was right, the darkness of what seemed like an endless tunnel was almost impenetrable. He held a hand in front of him, taking a hesitant step forward as his palm brushed accidentally against her body.

She jumped at the unexpected contact, a frightful squeak escaping her mouth. "Calm down, it's just me."

"Well, that isn't exactly comforting, is it?"

Flynn rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Just, keep walking." He muttered as his palm slowly rested over what he assumed was the small of her back, pressing slightly to urge her forward. He could feel her tensing up under his touch, her body going rigid at the unwanted invasion of her personal space. She resumed her walk forward nonetheless, her steps slightly quicker as she tried to avoid his contact.

They didn't seem to have made it too far inside the tunnel when she stopped abruptly once more. He barely had time to stop, his body almost colliding against hers, and he let out an exasperated sigh.

"What now?" He growled, annoyed at the constant interruptions.

"There are stairs ahead, I think."

"Well, climb them."

"I can't even see where I'm going, how am I supposed to climb them?"

His hand came to rub his brow in annoyance. "Look, we have to make it upstairs one way or another, so you better hurry or we'll stay here the whole night."

He heard her huff in protest, but after a few seconds, she advanced once more along the cavernous dark tunnel.

The journey up the tower seem to take ages as they slowly climbed the stone stairs, their hands clinging to the cold, humid walls for support as they blindly made their way upstairs. More than once, he almost tripped down with the impossibly long trail of hair the princess seemed to be leaving behind her, despite the fact that she was carrying half the length of her golden tresses in the crook of her elbow. After what felt like hours, the princess finally came to a stop.

"Ouch!" Flynn heard a bumping sound, like something hitting against wood, followed by the princess' pained exclamation.

"What is it?"

"There's some kind of... trapdoor, I think. I accidentally bumped into it." She explained, the sound of fingers scraping against wood the only thing interrupting the oppressing silence.

"You think you can open it?"

There was a loud knock against the wood, and after a few pushes and grunts coming from somewhere ahead of him, a pale silvery light filtered through the new opening over their heads. The princess looked down at him, a self-satisfied smile spreading over her face. "I can manage."

* * *

She pushed herself over the ledge of the trapdoor, and she heard him following suit behind, emerging on a faintly illuminated spacious room. The cold floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, as was apparently everything else inside the dark tower. The pale silvery moonlight filtered through a window on the opposite side of the semicircular room, casting dark shadows in every corner and making the place look even more somber.

Her stomach churned at the thought of having to spend the night alone with her kidnapper in this gloomy tower. Rapunzel's eyes swept over the dark room, the place was relatively empty save for a few ancient pieces of furniture and what appeared to be a small kitchen on the far corner of the room. A set of stairs was barely visible in the filtering moonlight on the opposite corner, and she felt the strange urge to dart toward them and get as far away from her only companion as possible.

Flynn seemed pretty occupied with studying his surroundings to pay her no mind for the moment. Seizing the opportunity, she slowly distanced herself from him, silently slipping back toward the ancient kitchen in the dark corner of the room.

She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage at the thought of being alone with him. She still didn't know what exactly were his intentions, or how she had managed to get involved in his scheme, but being aware of his reputation was enough to make her feel more than a little queasy.

Flynn Rider was a dangerous man, and not exactly because of the gravity of his crimes, - which as far as she knew, at least didn't involve any murders - but because of his uncanny ability for deceit and treachery. He could smooth-talk his way out of any situation, and it was rumored he had an unbelievably charming personality, one he used at its full advantage to get exactly what he wanted. He was not a man to be trusted.

And there was only one explanation as to why he would have kidnapped her. He didn't want the crown, the deceitful traitor, that had only been an excuse to distract her, and she was now only realizing the depth of her mistake. No, Rapunzel now knew exactly what he wanted, and she was sure not going to let him have it without putting up a fight.

She observed quietly as Flynn inspected the contents of his satchel, sighing softly in relief at whatever he saw inside. She took advantage of his momentary distraction to inspect the small kitchen, consisting only of an old stone furnace, a wooden counter and some rickety cabinets. Hanging on the wall, over the old furnace, was a small collection of pans and pots supported by small hooks. She chanced a glance over her shoulder, Flynn was still inspecting carefully whatever was inside that satchel.

Rapunzel extended a shaking hand, silently praying that the pots and pans wouldn't scrap against the stone and attract her captor's attention. Her hand curled around the handle of a particularly light frying pan, carefully lifting it off the hook and sighing in relief as it came off without so much as a sound.

Hugging the frying pan to her chest, she took a step back toward Flynn, his back was turned to her, and his lean figure in contrast of the moonlight made him appear like a dark looming shadow. This was it, the frying pan would have to do for now. That was her only weapon and this her only chance.

Rapunzel could feel Pascal's small body trembling against her neck. She gave him a reassuring look as she got closer and closer to her kidnapper, her footsteps silent and stealthy.

She was close enough now. She held the pan in front of her, ready to strike, when Flynn suddenly whirled around to face her.

"Well, this will have to do for now, but at least-" he was caught off abruptly by her shoving the frying pan against his neck. It had been almost an impulse, but she was now holding her only weapon threateningly against her captor. And she was quite sure he wouldn't be happy about it.

Sure enough, after the initial shock had subsided, his wide-eyed stare turned into a glare. "Seriously?!"

Flynn let out an exasperated exhale, but she tried to swallow her fear as her eyes narrowed into what she hoped was a threatening look.

"Now, let's get things straight, _Flynn Rider_." She pressed the pan closer against his throat and he took a step back in return, his brown eyes never leaving hers. "What exactly do you want to do with my hair?"

The question seemed to have taken him aback. His thick eyebrows raised questioningly as an utterly clueless look settled over his face. "What?"

"What do you want to do with my hair?" She repeated firmly, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Cut it? Sell it?!"

He was now looking at her like she had suddenly spurted a second head, and she was beginning to suspect she had perhaps made a terrible, terrible mistake.

"I-wha-no! Why on earth would I want something like that?" He sputtered, his eyes darting around the room awkwardly as he backed away from her.

Confusion settled over her as she realized he actually had no idea what she was talking about. "Wait, you... don't want my hair?"

The completely creeped out look on his face should probably be enough to answer her question. "In case you haven't noticed, princess, I'm a thief not a wigmaker." He rolled his eyes in annoyance, and a feeling of dread settled deep in her stomach. "Why would I possibly want you hair, of all things?"

No, no, this didn't make any sense. "Then why... why did you kidnap me?"

Flynn's eyes squeezed shut, his hand coming to rub the bridge of his nose. "Believe me, I definitely hadn't been planing on it." He looked as if he was completely done with this unfortunate situation. "And if you hadn't interfered with the plan, I would've never had the need to do it in the first place."

Interfered with what?! "What are you talking about?" Rapunzel's brow furrowed in confusion.

Flynn rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Look, I couldn't leave any witnesses behind, ok? I need to escape Corona, and I can't exactly do it when the entire island is after me, now can I?"

"But... I didn't..."

"You recognized me since the beginning, and I couldn't risk you talking." He stated simply. Her head swirled as she tried to understand the absurd situation.

"So that's it? That's why you kidnapped me, so I wouldn't tell on you?" Flynn merely shrugged nonchalantly in response.

Her grip over the pan's handle slacked as she stared at him disbelievingly. "Then take me back!"

Flynn snorted derisively. "Like hell I will."

"No, no, take me back home and I promise I won't tell a soul about what happened." She tried to convey her honesty in her earnest stare, but he didn't seem the slightest bit convinced.

"And I'm supposed to believe you?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I _promise,_ Flynn." She insisted, staring intently at him. "And when I promise something, I never, _ever_ break that promise."

His eyes narrowed, she could tell he wasn't convinced at all. There was a moment of silence, and then; "Yeah, right."

A sense of desperation clawed at her throat. What was she supposed to do now? "You have to take me back, _now_!" She tried to muster every ounce of courage left in her, channeling her mother's imposing look as she demanded what she wanted. But Rapunzel wasn't used to being all demanding and imposing and threatening at all, and she could tell from the look on his face, that wasn't going to work on him.

His previously exasperated stare hardened, and he took a step forward, making her retreat a step back. "Look, I hate this situation as much as you do. But don't you worry, I'll find a way to get rid of you as soon as I can manage." Her eyes widened at his implication, but he didn't seem fazed by her clearly apparent fear. "You'll get back to your precious palace soon enough, and then we can part ways as unlikely friends and pretend this never happened."

She couldn't help but notice he was actually cornering her, advancing toward her with a menacing glint in his eyes she had not seen before. She hadn't even realized she had been backing away until she felt her back hit the cold wall behind her. Rapunzel held the frying pan in front of her in a poor attempt to defend herself, but her hands were trembling and her legs seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.

Flynn closed the gap between them with one last large step. "In the meantime," he muttered, a threatening hint settled in his eyes as he forcefully snatched the pan from her shaking hands, discarding it behind him. She flinched at the loud clattering of steel colliding with the floor. "I wouldn't advice you getting on my bad side, _Princess_." He hissed against her ear, making her squirm uncomfortably against the wall behind her.

He towered over her, making her feel small and vulnerable under his heated glare. "And if I were you, I'd think twice before you try to threaten me again with that frying pan."

She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for what he would do next, but much to her surprise, he let her go, fixing her an annoyed glance as he retreated toward the staircase on the other side of the room.

Rapunzel let out a relived breath she didn't even know she had been holding. Pascal squeaked fearfully on her shoulder, but this time she didn't even have words to comfort her little friend. She watched silently as Flynn's lean shadow disappeared behind a curtain hiding what seemed like a room at the end of the stairs. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. Oh dear, how was she going to get out of this situation now?

* * *

That night she submerged into an uneasy sleep. After Flynn had disappeared upstairs, she decided to stay in the same dark spacious room, inspecting her surroundings and finding nothing special to hold her interest. A few minutes passed before he came down the stairs again, telling her that he had found two separate rooms in which they could spend the night. She'd doubted she could even fall asleep knowing that he was just a room next to her. After his threatening outburst earlier, she found even more reasons not to trust him, but his tone had lost all his threatening edge and his eyes were light once again instead of clouded with pent-up annoyance. He'd told her he would stay in the smaller bedroom somewhere halfway upstairs, and she could take the bigger one at the end of the stairs, before leaving her alone once more to deal with her own conflicted thoughts without giving her so much as a glance back.

She'd waited a long time until she was sure he wouldn't be coming back before tentatively making her way upstairs and into what would now be her bedroom. It was small and simple compared to her bedchamber back in the palace, with bland white walls and a high ceiling she could barely make out in the dark. She'd buried herself under the covers of the four-poster bed, coughing softly as a cloud of dust fluttered in the air as she'd lifted the stiff blankets. Pascal had squeaked inquiringly beside her, and she had given him a sad smile before her eyes fluttered close, begging for the darkness of sleep to claim her so she could maybe forget the events of the day, or wake up back in her bedroom in the palace to discover it had all been a bizarre nightmare. After much tossing and turning, she'd finally been able to fall into a dreamless sleep, drifting into a semiconscious state in which she could only worry about escaping her newfound predicament.

She felt like she had just went to bed, when a now familiar voice invaded her consciousness.

"Princess?" Someone prodded her in the shoulder. Rapunzel groaned softly in reply, too tired to utter a coherent sentence.

"Hey, Princess?" The prodding turned to a more insistent shake, and she waved her hand blindly at the intruder in a dismissive gesture.

"Wake up!" He shoved, and suddenly the events of the previous day came tumbling through her memory. She sat up abruptly with a startled yelp, accidentally hitting him square in the face as she swatted blindly in her attempt to get as far away from him as possible.

"Ouch!" Flynn cried out, holding a hand to his abused nose with a pained grimace. "Watch it, would you?!"

Rapunzel tried to control her labored breaths as she regarded him with wide, slightly terrified eyes. "What do you want?"

Flynn shot her an exasperated look as he examined his fingers for any hint of blood that might had come from his bruised nose. "I was just going to tell you that I'm going out."

"Out? Where are you going?" Was he really going to leave her alone?

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just going to find us some food and supplies, since there's absolutely nothing in this tower that's not decaying."

She tried to contain the glimmer of hope growing inside her at the prospect of being completely unwatched. As if he had read her mind, Flynn shot her a warning look.

"Don't even think about escaping, _your highness_. These woods are not exactly known for their safety, and you wouldn't even make it halfway back to the village before getting lost."

She pouted defeatedly, crossing her arms over her chest in what she knew would probably appear like a childlike gesture. And just like that, her hopes for escaping had been tossed out the window. Flynn smirked arrogantly.

"Anything special you'd like me to bring back, Princess?" He inquired in what would otherwise be a respectful tone if it weren't for the amused grin on his face. She frowned slightly.

"Rapunzel."

"What?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"My name is Rapunzel, stop calling me Princess." She huffed. She'd never liked to be reminded of her title, and Flynn apparently was quite insistent on referring to her as anything but her given name.

He rolled his eyes, already turning to exit the bedroom. "Whatever, Blondie."

Her eyes widened at the new nickname, but before she could protest he had already disappeared behind the red velvet curtain.

Rapunzel stayed back in the bed, patiently waiting for Flynn to leave the tower so she could exit the bedroom and explore the place now that the shadows of the night had dissipated and the sunlight filtered through the windows. She heard the trapdoor closing heavily, and a small smile settled on her face.

"Let's have a look around, Pascal." The tiny chameleon squeaked back in reply, and she held her hand open for her friend to crawl over to her shoulder as she rose from the bed.

The thought of attempting to escape crossed her mind, however reckless it seemed. She still didn't know what were Flynn's intentions with her, and although he'd admitted he wanted nothing to do with her hair, she was still unsure of what he may try to do in order to 'get rid' of her. She needed to escape and get back to the palace before he discovered her secret and the actual value of what he now had in his power.

But much to her chagrin, Flynn was right. There was no way Rapunzel would make it back to the palace all on her own without getting lost in the woods. And as much as she didn't trust Flynn, at least he hadn't tried to harm her in the small amount of time they'd spent together. However if she escaped and managed to get herself lost, she could as well end up in the hands of far more villainous criminals that wouldn't hesitate to do much worse things if they had her in their possession.

She shivered at the idea, and her heart clenched in her chest at the thought of her parents. How incredibly worried they must be. This was exactly the situation they had so insistently tried to prevent. Their worst fear had always been that Rapunzel would be kidnapped again, and now in a matter of minutes, Flynn Rider had managed to do what the cloaked mysterious figure had attempted to do all those years ago. He had managed to take her right under their noses, and, unlike last time, no one had noticed until it had already been too late.

This time she _had_ been taken, but her kidnapper didn't have the slightest clue about her hair, and she had to ensure it would stay that way.

Not that she had much clue about her hair either. The topic had always been like taboo, no one dared to speak about it in detail unless absolutely necessary. Since the attempted kidnapping of the newborn princess by that mysterious cloaked figure, Rapunzel and her hair had always been protected at all costs. The only problem was that, no one really knew the extent of the magic hiding within her mysterious golden locks.

The secret had stayed between her parents, the royal physician, a few trusted guards and servants, and of course, Rapunzel herself. There was a special magic, something that had to do with the magical healing flower that had saved her mother's life and her own. According to the royal physician, she had somehow absorbed that magic while her mother was pregnant, and had been born with it, the abilities of the magical flower hiding within her. And her hair was the source.

Funny how if the mysterious person hadn't attempted to kidnap her, no one would have found out about her particular ability. Apparently, someone else knew about her special power, someone that wanted it for themselves. They had tried to cut her hair, that's how they discovered that the magic hiding within her could only be conjured by her golden locks, which once cut, they turned brown and lost its power.

A gift like that had to be protected. But funnily enough, no one else knew how exactly the power of her hair was activated. No one but the cloaked figure that had tried to kidnap the newborn princess, and had managed to escape just in time before the guards caught them.

Her parents were actually relieved to know that no one else had a clue about how to activate Rapunzel's special gift. That way, they would ensure no one would ever take advantage of her secret magical abilities. But that didn't reduce their paranoia, and they'd always insisted on having Rapunzel safely guarded and accompanied at all times, making sure the mysterious would-be-kidnapper wouldn't attempt to take her again.

Unfortunately, all their efforts had been ultimately futile, seeing as the most famous thief in the kingdom had managed to take her away without much of a struggle, and all because he couldn't risk her telling on him.

The situation seemed oddly ridiculous. Rapunzel couldn't even imagine what Flynn would do if he found out her own hair was worth more than a thousand crowns like the one he had stolen. She dismissed the idea, deciding to think about it later as she explored her surroundings now that she had the chance.

However, much to her disappointment, there was nothing remotely interesting hiding in the confinements of the tower. Aside from the dusty old furniture and a few ancient belongings from whoever had occupied the place years ago, the tower was relatively empty.

Judging by the old dusty dresses and a few pieces of jewelry she'd found in cabinets and a rickety wardrobe, the place had apparently been previously inhabited by a woman. What had become of the previous owner of the tower was completely beyond Rapunzel, but she could only assume the place had been abandoned probably more than a decade ago, if the old fashioned gowns and jewelry left behind were any indication.

After much searching and investigating, she'd managed to stumble upon an old trunk hiding under the bed in the bedroom Flynn had claimed for himself the previous day. She opened the lid carefully, a cloud of dust fluttering in the air as she did so, and found a stack of ancient books and yellowing crumbled scrolls and letters resting inside. Empty ink bottles and dusty vials littered the inside of the trunk, mixed with lose pieces of parchment and broken quills. A rush of curiosity welled inside her as she took the stack of books in her hands, blowing over the dusty covers to reveal the titles. They seemed like old tomes written in an ancient language she couldn't understand.

"What do you think these are, Pascal?" The little chameleon shrugged cluelessly. Rapunzel looked through the yellowing pages, all covered with weird symbols and runes she couldn't quite make out. She'd studied other languages and ancient runes in her tutoring lessons and history classes, but none of them were even close to the strange symbolisms covering the pages of these books. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it had something to do with some kind of witchcraft, judging by the pentagrams and peculiar runes.

As she leafed through the pages, she stumbled upon a particular drawing that caught her attention immediately. The familiar-looking flower stared back at her from the page, as if calling her and inviting her to uncover the secrets involving its existence. There were strange runes surrounding the drawing, making it appear almost like a spell involving the peculiar plant.

Pascal squeaked beside her, snapping her out of her trance. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and closed the tome, discarding the books and deciding to explore the ancient scrolls instead.

Rapunzel carefully unfolded them one by one, inspecting their contents and finding nothing but scrawls in the same ancient language. She was just about to give up, when she discovered one she could actually understand.

The handwriting was the same she had seen in the other parchments, neat and stylish and perfectly legible now that she had an idea of what she was reading.

She studied the words curiously, marveling at the meaning of the verses written over the scroll.

"It seems like a spell or... an incantation." She muttered distractedly, the words blurring in her vision, as if hypnotizing her. It all mixed in her head; a faint glow, the drawing of the flower, the ancient runes, a drop of sunlight, a familiar melody. All of it coming from within her as a hazy memory, calling for her, begging her to remember, asking her to pronounce the words to awaken the ancient lullaby.

And so she did without even noticing.

 _Flower gleam and glow_

 _Let your power shine_

 _Make the clock reverse_

 _Bring back what once was mine._

There was a rush of warmth spreading all over her body, and a bright glow that she confused with the sunlight streaming through the window. She continued unaffected, the frantic squeaks coming from Pascal sounding almost distant.

 _Heal what has been hurt_

 _Change the fates design_

 _Save what has been lost_

 _Bring back what once was mine..._

 _What once was mine._

She came out of her hazy state of mind as soon as she uttered the last words of the incantation, her eyes widening and her heartbeat quickening frantically at what she saw before her.

Pascal squeaked fearfully beside her, clearly as freaked out as her. Her hair was glowing.

 _Her hair was glowing!_

The bright gleam faded slowly before she could even process what was happening, her long tresses returning to their original color almost as soon as the song had finished. That, of course, didn't erase her utter shock.

Rapunzel's hands flew to her mouth to prevent the panicked scream welling up in her throat. Of course she had known her hair was special, she had known it had some sort of magical properties, but this was completely unexpected!

How exactly had she managed to stumble upon the secrets of her magical hair in the depths of an abandoned tower hidden in the middle of nowhere?

How was that even possible?!

She could feel her heart beating frantically in her chest as she hastily returned the stacks of books and ancient scrolls back inside the old dusty trunk. This had to stay a secret. No one could find out about this, _especially_ not Flynn.

With much difficulty, she managed to drag the heavy trunk back to what was now her room, and hid it carefully under the four-poster bed, throwing a worn out blanket over it for good measure.

There, she would make sure Flynn wouldn't find it while she stayed captive in this tower.

She sat over the bed, absentmindedly scratching Pascal's head as she mulled over the newfound secret of her magical hair. She had finally found out how to activate the magic within her, and, ironically, that would have never been possible if she hadn't been brought over to this isolated tower.

What other secrets laid there beyond the palace walls, just waiting for her to discover them? This had definitely been the most exciting - albeit terrifying - event in Rapunzel's entire life. And hadn't she been waiting just for that? Hadn't she been dreaming of freedom and having an adventure and exploring the world beyond the palace and Corona's boundaries?

Wasn't this exactly what she had wished for all these years? To finally be free.

Okay, she wasn't exactly free. She was being held captive by a dangerous criminal, hiding in an abandoned tower in the middle of the woods. But that was probably as free as she would ever get to be. Shouldn't she make the most of the situation? That was what she always did.

Unknowingly, Flynn had provided her with the perfect ticket to her dream; her freedom, and her thirst for adventure. She was only now realizing that _this_ was the perfect excuse she needed. Wasn't Flynn planning to escape Corona and leave the kingdom behind? What if she somehow found a way to, say, tag along?

The only question was... How was she going to convince him to take her with him, and then bring her back home after a few days? He was never going to agree to that. Unless...

The corners of her lips lifted into a small smile, and for the first time in what felt like ages, a wave of excitement coursed through her veins as she lifted a suspicious-looking Pascal in her hands.

"Pascal, we're going on an adventure." Rapunzel declared firmly as she made her way out of the bedroom. "We just need to find Flynn's satchel first."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Flynn's voice startled her as she leaned over the furnace, ready to pick out the tray of cookies she had put in earlier.

Rapunzel shrugged dismissively. "I'm baking."

Flynn cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. "You know how to bake?"

She nodded as she carefully took the tray out from the furnace, using an old fluffy cloth she had found to protect her hands from burning. "I love baking, I do it whenever I have the time."

After Flynn had returned with the much needed food and supplies, Rapunzel had set to work on cleaning and dusting the kitchen. It wasn't something she was used to, considering she had never had the need to clean anything back in the palace, but she didn't mind much. While Flynn worked on cleaning and rearranging the rest of the tower, she had decided to bake some cookies for both of them. Aside from the fact that it would give her something to do, she decided that being polite and showing friendliness and kindness to Flynn would maybe put him in a much better mood for when she unfolded her plan.

Perhaps being on friendly terms would make the situation a lot less difficult.

She could feel his eyes boring on her back as she carefully transferred the cookies to a bowl Flynn had brought from his trip to... wherever he had gone to get the groceries.

"Why would a princess have the need to bake...?" He mused out loud. She was not sure if the question was meant for her, but she answered anyway.

"Well, life does get boring from time to time when you have nothing else to do than to attend those boring tutoring lessons." Rapunzel shrugged with a half smile as she held the bowl before him. "Want to try some?"

Flynn's eyes narrowed suspiciously, looking from the delicious-smelling cookies and back at her as if determining whether it was safe to try them or not.

"They are... not poisoned." She tried to reassure him with an easy smile that she was sure came out as an awkward grimace.

Flynn's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. "No thanks, I actually have something to work on."

He turned around, making his way back to what was now his room. Rapunzel let out a disappointed sigh. She had hoped he would accept her peace offering and they would be able to be in somewhat friendly terms before she approached him with the idea of the deal she would like to propose.

Pascal chirped inquiringly beside her. "I guess we'll have to tell him right away then."

She followed upstairs and peeked her head from behind the curtain granting his room some privacy. He was sitting in front of an old worn out desk, bent over a piece of parchment as he wrote something.

She silently slipped inside, careful not to disturb him just yet. Flynn seemed to have noticed her presence, as his shoulders tensed up almost imperceptibly, but he made no comment to acknowledge her, so she crept up behind him, stopping only a few feet away.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged dismissively. "Working on a way to get you back to the castle so I can escape this damn kingdom already." He murmured distractedly.

Rapunzel bit her lip nervously. "And how are you going to do that? If I get back, what makes you think I won't talk?"

He kept scribbling without even looking at her. "That won't matter. By the time you get back, I will already be on my way to freedom."

She raised a curious eyebrow. "What are you planning?"

"Well, I have the perfect way to get rid of you and get you back home, while ensuring my freedom and safety at the same time. Not to mention a certain amount of money that would do me no harm."

"And how would you do that?" She hoped his genius plan had some kind of loophole that could somehow lead to its failure, because going back to the palace wasn't something she was looking forward to anymore.

"Simple." He looked at her over his shoulder, a satisfied smirk pulling on the corners of his lips. "A ransom."

An indignant frown settled on Rapunzel's brow. "And what exactly would the ransom involve?"

Flynn shrugged, waving his hand in a vague gesture. "Oh, you know, the usual. If they want you back safe and sound, they'll have to guarantee my freedom and safety, ensure that I won't be prosecuted once I leave the kingdom and safe passage outside Corona." He crossed his arms over his chest, pondering his requests. "Also, a certain sum of money would be just fine. I'll have to pay quite a lot for passage to leave the kingdom unnoticed."

Rapunzel swallowed a discouraged sigh. His plan was quite good, and it would be nearly impossible to convince him to drop it. She had hoped she wouldn't have to restore to her backup plan. Asking nicely would have been her first option, but now she apparently had no choice.

She took a deep breath and tried to muster her demanding face. She hoped she looked firm enough. "Well, I'm sorry Flynn, but you can't send that ransom note to my parents."

This seemed to have finally granted her his full attention. Flynn rose to his feet, turning to face her with a somewhat smug look on his face. "Oh, and how do you suppose I get you back to the palace then? I thought you wanted to go back immediately."

She hesitated only for a second. "I-I did want to, but now I've changed my mind."

He raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

She bit the inside of her cheek, clutching a thin strand of hair between her fingers as she always did when she was feeling particularly nervous.

"I want to leave Corona with you." She finally blurted out in a rush.

"I'm sorry, what?!" Flynn seemed way too stunned to be a good sign. His usually cool demeanor changed into what could be described as an almost panicked expression.

Rapunzel grimaced slightly. "I... I want to leave Corona too. I want you to take me with you so I can leave."

Flynn blinked, his gaping mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words. "You're out of your mind."

She sighed, her wide eyes pleading as she took a step closer. "Please, Flynn. I've never traveled outside the kingdom before. I'll never get another chance to explore the world beyond Corona if I don't take this. I need you to be my guide."

"What, do I look like a babysitter to you?" He frowned slightly, the bewilderment still not completely gone from his face. "Of course not! I can't do that at all."

"You already kidnapped me and stole my crown, the least you can do is do me this favor and help me." Rapunzel insisted, her green eyes bright and hopeful.

He shook his head stubbornly. "Sorry Blondie, no can do. How do you suppose I sneak you out of Corona when the entire kingdom is looking for you?" He threw his hands up in frustration, clearly annoyed that she was even suggesting the idea and making him lose more of his time. "Do you grasp how insane that is?"

"Besides, why do you even want to leave Corona? You have everything a girl would want back in the palace."

He looked genuinely curious as to why she would do such thing, but she still felt unsure about him, and she felt no need to confess to him her dreams and deepest fears, or to explain her longing for freedom and adventure. That was something she was going to reserve for herself.

"I just need to, you wouldn't understand." Her shoulders dropped as she let out a deep breath. "Look Flynn, if you don't want to do this, that's complete fine. Go ahead and send the ransom note and then get me back to the palace." She turned around, ready to leave as she continued. "I guess you'll just have to leave Corona on your own and without the crown..."

"Wait, wait, wait. Stop right there." Flynn seemed to have come out from his stunned trance and was now looking at her with slight annoyance. "What do you mean by that?"

"I _mean_ , you can either help me, or leave Corona without the crown because you are definitely not having both the money of the ransom and the crown." Rapunzel crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to look a bit defiant. She was sure it wasn't exactly working in her favor.

"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna stop me from taking the crown?" Flynn's smug smirk disappeared as his eyes searched the room carefully, surely coming to realize just what exactly was missing. "Wait... Where is my satchel?!"

"I hid it, somewhere you'll never find it." It was Rapunzel's turn to smirk, although her self-satisfaction was tainted by the faint hint of fear settling deep inside her. What if Flynn lost his temper just like last night and this time he didn't deliver just threats?

His brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "I thought I warned you not to mess with me, _Princess_." He took a step closer and she immediately retreated.

"Look, I can be helpful to you Flynn. No one will dare harm you while you have me under your control, right?" She raised her eyebrows to emphasize her point. "The guards will fear the repercussions that might cause on my safety, and I know we can seek passage outside the kingdom if we pay enough."

He seemed skeptical, still irritated by her sudden change of plans, so she went on. "It's just going to be a few days, a week at most, then we get back here, you send your ransom note and get back your satchel with the crown. I would have gotten what I wanted, and you get the money and escape Corona without anyone stopping you."

"That's an unbelievably crazy plan, are you aware of that?" He scowled moodily, his eyes sweeping through the room as if expecting to find the crown hiding in the corners. "And I can just search the whole tower and find the crown myself, I don't suppose it can be that hard."

She supposed he could do that, but Rapunzel was quite sure she had been rather creative with the new location of the precious tiara. He wouldn't be able to find it.

She took a daring step forward with a determined frown on her brow. "Something brought us here, _Flynn Rider_. Call it what you will; fate... destiny..."

"A horse." He deadpanned.

She got even closer, not breaking eye contact. "So I have made the decision to trust you." That wasn't necessarily true, but he didn't need to know that, right?

"A horrible decision, really." Oh she knew, she definitely knew.

Another step closer and she was now standing a few inches away from him, and despite the fact that he towered a head above her, Rapunzel still glared defiantly. "But trust _me_ when I tell you this."

She stood on her tiptoes, starring intently at him with as much intensity and authority as she could muster, which in her opinion wasn't much but anyway. "You can destroy this tower _brick by brick_ , but without my help, Flynn, you _won't_ get back your precious satchel."

Flynn's eyes widened slightly at her words, leaning slightly away from her as he cocked an unconvinced eyebrow. He regarded her carefully for a moment, and then; "You're an insane, stubborn girl, you know that?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Do we have a deal?"

"No." He muttered defiantly, his eyes darkening with anger.

"I won't give you back your satchel unless you accept, so are you going to help me?"

"No!"

"Fine then, send the ransom note and get rid of me, I don't care." She did care but she wasn't about to show any weakness just yet. Maybe she'd end up begging in the end, but not now.

Flynn groaned in a mixture of deep annoyance and resignation. He took a step back, his hand rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sighed heavily.

There was a moment of silence only interrupted by Pascal's cheerful chirps, and then he finally spoke. "Fine! I'll help you. I don't know what you're planning but you are making a terrible, terrible mistake, Blondie." He warned, shoving a finer into her shoulder.

Rapunzel couldn't suppress the delighted grin spreading over her face. "Really? Oh that's great! It's going to be awesome!" She bounced on her tiptoes excitedly, holding her hand out for him to shake as a soft, excited giggle escaped her lips. "Deal?"

Flynn threw his head back in exasperation, groaning as his hands rubbed his face in annoyance. "You should know, never to strike a deal with a thief, Blondie." He grumbled, but shook her hand anyway, sealing the pact and, unbeknownst to them, their destinies.

"I could betray you the first chance I get." He warned.

Rapunzel's lips pursed against an amused smile. "I guess I'll have to take the risk."

She tried not to think about the consequences now, because while a betrayal wouldn't be surprising coming from him, trusting him and then getting hurt, _that_ was a risk she wasn't willing to take. Guess she'd have to be careful now. As everyone knew, Flynn was a dangerous man, especially for her and her vulnerable heart.

* * *

 **Oh how the tables have turned, right? Who else is excited to see how this comes out? I'd love to know your opinion about this one!**

 **Hope you liked this chapter guys. Since I already started school this Monday, I don't know when I will be able to update next. I'll try to update asap anyway, but if it takes me longer please be patient with me, okay?**

 **Reviews always help with my inspiration, and it's really important for me to know what the readers think, so don't forget to leave a comment on the way out!**

 **See you soon ;)**


	4. Leave The Past Behind

**Chapter 4: Leave The Past Behind**

 **Hello again guys! So, I've been incredibly busy with school, hence the long wait. I'm sorry I took longer to post this chapter, but I barely have time to write anymore *sigh*. But, here's a long chapter for you to compensate for the long wait.**

 **Anyway, I want to thank all of those who left a review, I really appreciate each and every one of them, so thank you so much!**

 **Disclaimer: nope, don't own anything but the plot.**

* * *

 _Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it, my love._

 _They are the hunters, we are the foxes, and we run._

 _Baby, I know places we won't be found (...)_

 _Cause I, I know places we can hide._

 _~I Know Places_

* * *

The sun was shining brightly that day over the kingdom of Corona, and although the dense vegetation and the tall branches of the leafy trees sometimes made it hard for the sunlight to filter through them, that was not an issue over one particular clearing.

The grandiose tower rose majestically right in the middle of the valley, its tip barely visible against the clear, cloudless sky. The view was the perfect example of a picturesque scenery, one would think it actually looked somewhat cozy.

But to a certain someone, it was anything but that.

The chirping chameleon sneaked out from behind the empty pot resting over the windowsill, carefully pressing its little back against the clay flowerpot. Chest heaving and eyes wide, the tiny reptile changed the color of its own scales to match the flowerpot's design, snickering as it did so, as if it had suddenly managed to turn itself invisible, and therefore, impossible to be found.

Not a minute had passed before a sneaky golden lock of hair curled carefully around the chameleon's tail, lifting the tiny reptile upside down in the air.

"Gotcha!" Rapunzel smiled brightly at Pascal's startled squeal. She chuckled amusedly as she lowered her friend to the base of the windowsill, uncurling her long blonde lock of hair from Pascal's tail. "Okay, that was twenty out of twenty three. Wanna play twenty three out forty five?" She eyed Pascal hopefully, although she knew what her friend's response would be.

Just as she had predicted, Pascal's eyes narrowed as he shot her a blank stare, clearly indicating her that their impromptu session of hide and seek had reached its long overdue end. Rapunzel sighed tiredly as she sat herself over the windowsill, her mouth twisting in a thoughtful frown.

"Okay, so what do you wanna do now?" Pascal smiled mischievously, pointing his tail towards the vast clearing bellow. He wanted to go outside and escape the tower, probably just as much as she wanted to. She considered the idea only for a second before dismissing it completely.

"Yeah... I think not." She sighed regretfully as Pascal shot her an inquisitive stare. She knew what he wanted to say. They could make it, they could easily escape the tower and leave all of this ridiculous idea behind, try to return to the palace on their own and forget about her insane deal, and Flynn Rider, and this whole horrible experience. So why did she insist on staying?

"You know Flynn wouldn't like it if he found us wandering outside the tower. It's better if we stay on his good side, otherwise he will refuse to help us." Pascal's brow furrowed as he dedicated her a particularly amusing glare, sticking his tongue out as if to demonstrate just how much this whole idea annoyed him.

She couldn't really blame him, she wasn't enjoying this part of the plan either. Flynn had insisted on waiting until things settled a bit back in the town. The whole kingdom would be looking for her, and with the guards searching every last corner of Corona in hopes of finding her, it would be ten times more difficult for them to escape undetected. She had reluctantly agreed, although she hated the idea of making her parents worry for longer than she had initially predicted.

But it had already been four days since her kidnapping and Flynn wasn't showing any signs of wanting to leave Corona any time soon. In fact, he wasn't even showing himself much. He would leave the tower before she woke up, and usually came back late at night. She didn't know if he was usually short-tempered, or if it was just her mere presence that annoyed him, but whenever she tried to start a conversation with him, or inquired about when they would be leaving, he either answered curtly, or made a snarky remark before leaving.

If she didn't know any better, she would say he was trying his best to avoid her.

And once again it was entirely her fault. He was clearly more than a bit annoyed that she had frustrated his initial plan and was making him waste his time guiding her around. In other circumstances, she would have felt guilty, but she tried to suppress the feeling reminding herself that this was his own fault just as much as hers. If he hadn't tried to steal _her_ crown and decided to kidnap _her_ , this wouldn't be happening.

In fact, this entire fiasco was all _his_ fault, so he really had no right to be annoyed with her in the first place. She was only taking advantage of her own unfortunate situation.

She sighed once more, making a mental note to ask Flynn about their plan as soon as he decided to come back. She lifted Pascal's tiny body in her hands, gently scratching his head as she attempted a halfhearted smile. "Don't be mad Pascal. We are going to have a lot of fun once we get to leave Corona, you'll see."

They would be free, for the first time ever they would be completely free. No judging stares, no tutors telling her how she should act or dress, no council members whispering behind her back, and especially, no one planning her future life as they arranged her marriage with a complete stranger.

She had to enjoy her freedom while it lasted.

Pascal squeaked inquiringly. He must had noticed the nostalgic hint in her eyes. Rapunzel looked down, smiling sadly as she gently pressed her index finger against Pascal's little head. "How about we go find out more about the books we found?"

The tiny reptile shook his head vehemently, squeaking loudly in protest.

Rapunzel giggled at her friend's reluctance. Pascal hadn't quite liked the idea of further exploring the contents of those mysterious books that had led her to unleashing the secrets of her magical hair. She still didn't know exactly what the powers entailed, but she was more than willing to find out.

"C'mon Pascal. Where's your sense of adventure?"

She turned her back to the window and the sunny scenery bellow, and guided Pascal toward the confinements of the tower, while the little reptile squeaked loudly in protest.

Maybe they could entertain themselves some more, long enough until Flynn decided to show up again.

* * *

Rapunzel carefully trailed the piece of charcoal across the paper, her tongue sticking out in concentration as she finished the last touches of her newest sketch. She'd found some spare parchment and broken pieces of charcoal somewhere in the depths of some drawers a few days ago, and had decided to entertain herself with drawing using what little materials she had at her disposition.

The deem light provided by the candle she'd ignited once the darkness had fallen upon the tower was little, casting ominous shadows around the somewhat deserted room, making it difficult for her to see the details of her sketch quite as clearly as she would've liked.

She was on the verge of finishing her drawing when Pascal suddenly snapped to attention, his head turning carefully toward the room's entrance as he pointed at it with his tail.

Rapunzel sat the piece of charcoal down carefully over the desk's surface, straightening in her seat as she acknowledged Pascal's silent squeak. The little chameleon climbed down from his position on the desk and landed swiftly on the floor below, advancing rapidly toward the red velvet curtain granting the room some privacy.

She followed Pascal, carefully opening the curtain and exiting the bedroom. That's when she heard it; the sound of light footsteps barely audible from within the depths of the tower's base. She retreated a step back, hiding most of her body behind the red curtain.

Rapunzel watched as Pascal climbed down the stairs as fast as his little legs would carry him. Just a dark spot barely visible in the darkness engulfing the tower. Her gaze turned toward the trapdoor hidden within the floor below, and she wasn't surprised when it opened a moment later.

Flynn emerged through the new opening, closing the trapdoor behind him as quietly as possible. He probably thought that she was already asleep, and was trying to avoid making any sound so she wouldn't wake up. If her theories were correct, he wasn't doing it out of consideration, more like he was trying to avoid interacting with her for as long as possible.

She watched silently as he removed his _new_ satchel - since the one he had previously owned was currently hidden within the depths of the tower- and placed it over the kitchen table.

With a heavy sigh, he lowered himself over one of the worn out chairs, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. Rapunzel frowned as she watched a telltale dark spot swiftly making its way towards said chair. She pressed her lips together to refrain herself from gasping as she realized what exactly were Pascal's intentions. The tiny chameleon climbed quickly over the legs of the chair, perching himself carefully over Flynn's shoulder.

Before she could do anything to stop him, Pascal stuck his sticky tongue out.

"Gah!"

Rapunzel winced as Flynn's startled yelp echoed around the tower's walls.

"Stop. Doing. That!" He exclaimed through gritted teeth as he rubbed his abused ear against his shoulder.

She decided it was about time she showed herself, after all she had been waiting up for him to come back. There were many things they needed to discuss.

She quickly made her way down the stairs as Flynn rose from the chair he had been occupying a few seconds ago, his eyes clearly searching the floor in the hopes of finding the little reptile who had dared to stick his tongue in his ear, _again_.

"I see you finally decided to come back." Rapunzel commented offhandedly, leaning down to allow Pascal - who had raced across the room towards her in order to escape Flynn's meticulously searching eyes - to climb onto her open palm.

Flynn's back had been turned to her, but as soon as her voice echoed around the room his shoulders tensed up as he whirled around to face her.

His scowl deepened as his eyes landed on Pascal, happily perched on her shoulder. "Mind telling your frog to stop sticking his tongue in my ear?"

"Chameleon." She corrected, her lips pursed as she petted Pascal's head, more out of defiance than anything else.

"Nuance." Flynn rolled his eyes in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest in a nonchalant gesture. "I thought you were already asleep."

She raised a curious eyebrow as her eyes trailed across his features, trying to read his blank expression. So her assumptions were correct. He _was_ arriving late on purpose so he wouldn't have to face her when he came back.

How clever of him.

"I got distracted." She shrugged dismissively, not wanting to admit that she had stayed up on purpose to wait for him. "I was drawing, and I guess I lost track of time."

He didn't seem to care about her activities though, she hadn't even finished talking when he turned around once more and started making his way toward the kitchen table. Assuming that he was getting ready to retreat to his room and leave her to her own devices once more, she decided now was as good a time as any to bring up the subject that had been nagging her for the whole day.

"So..." Rapunzel took a casual step toward him, hoping her tone appeared nonchalant enough. "I've been thinking..."

"Now, that can't be good." He replied snidely, not even bothering to turn around and acknowledge her properly. She tried not to be too annoyed by his snarky comment.

" _I've been thinking,"_ she repeated, stressing every word. "and I want to talk to you about the future plans."

"What about them?"

Rapunzel let out an exasperated sigh through her nose. "Well, for starters, when exactly are we leaving? It's already been four days and, unlike you, I have been trapped inside this tower since you decided it would be a good idea to kidnap me."

"And I have never regretted a decision more than I do now." Flynn muttered under his breath, leaning his back against the table in a casual stance.

An indignant frown settled over Rapunzel's brow. "I don't even know where you've been going all this time, or what you have been doing."

"I don't think that's any of your business."

Her scowl deepened. "It is when your plans affect _me_!"

It was Flynn's turn to frown at her insistence. "Well, what do you think I've been doing, wasting my time playing around?" His usually aloof eyes flashed with a hint of annoyance. "If you must know, I've been traveling around listening for rumors about the guards' activities and the latest news that come from the town."

"And...?" She raised a curious eyebrow, her mild annoyance evaporating at the mention of some news coming from the town.

Flynn shrugged noncommittally. "I've heard some interesting gossip in the local taverns." He inspected his nails as he continued, as if the conversation wasn't interesting enough for him. "Apparently, rumor has it that the guards have almost given up on looking for you in the kingdom. They assume that you've already been taken outside of Corona. Ironic how they're not that far from the truth."

There was a disturbing feeling deep inside her stomach. She didn't know whether to be elated or disappointed that they had already lessened their inspections to find her.

"So they already gave up." She muttered absentmindedly, more to herself than to him.

Flynn regarded her carefully for a second before he answered. "Not exactly. I assume the patrolling rounds will be less meticulous. That should give us the perfect chance to sneak away undetected."

"So, to answer your first question; we're actually leaving tomorrow."

Her head snapped back to him in an instant, her eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "Really?"

"Yup." He turned around and picked up the satchel he had left over the table. "Pack whatever you need Blondie, it's gonna be a long trip."

A hint of excitement was slowly bubbling inside her, replacing her previous doubts and uncertainty. "You heard that, Pascal? We're finally leaving!" A soft giggle escaped her lips at the thought of _finally_ getting to leave her provisional prison. She had been waiting for so long, and now... now her dreams might come true. "Oh, it's going to be so exciting! Aren't you happy?"

Rapunzel was so wrapped up in her own elation, she forgot about the situation regarding her temporary freedom. Drowned by the excitement bubbling up inside her, she dismissed everything else around her. And that included Flynn, who was none too happy about this whole situation.

Pascal squeaked cheerfully as she held him in her palms, both of them gushing about their upcoming new adventure. "Oh, I know! It's gonna be great, and we'll be able to see a lot of new places and travel around and discover new things, just like we've been dreaming!" She bounced on her feet excitedly as Pascal chirped in reply.

"Yeah, well, pardon me if I don't join in your celebrations." Flynn's dry tone made her excited smile falter in her face. "I'd actually like to go to bed, so if you'll excuse me..." He waved a hand at them, indicating them to move aside, as they were conveniently blocking the staircase.

Rolling her eyes childishly, she stepped aside, leaving the space free for him to leave if he so pleased.

"That's okay, you weren't invited to join us anyway." She muttered under her breath as he passed by, a mischievous smirk settling on her lips.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." She smiled innocently at him, and if she hadn't known any better, she could've sworn she saw a hint of an amused smile pulling at the corners of his lips for just a second before he vanished up the stairs, leaving her alone to ponder over the news about their impending voyage.

* * *

The next day, Rapunzel woke up at the crack of dawn. She had barely been able to sleep in her excitement, and instead stayed awake thinking about the million possibilities that this new experience in her life would bring.

She packed only what would be absolutely necessary, some old garments that had probably belonged to the previous owner of the tower, and of course the trusty frying pan she had decided to keep for her own safety.

The dress she had been wearing since that fateful day she'd been taken away from the palace was completely ruined. Torn in places and stained with soil and dirt. She'd been working on fixing one of the old dresses she had found in the wardrobe to fit her correctly, but her efforts were futile.

Apparently the woman who had previously inhabited the tower had been far more voluptuous than she could ever hope to be. The dress fell loose in her petite frame, the neckline barely covering her modest chest and the tip of the dress managed to cover her whole feet. Of course, she would've needed to remake the whole piece of clothing for it to fit her correctly. She would never have that hourglass figure needed to make the dress cling to the body in just the right places, nor did she actually care. In fact, she still felt far too uncomfortable in her new outfit even after attempting to fix the old gown.

After cutting, sewing and adjusting the loose parts to make them fit, the final result was an outdated, weird-looking gown, the neckline falling too low for her comfort - although nothing compared to how it had initially been- and the waist too loose for it to look even remotely right over her thin figure.

Rapunzel frowned at her reflection on the mirror, fidgeting under her new garments and adjusting the still slightly revealing cleavage in an attempt to make it stay a bit higher on her chest.

Shrugging in defeat, she pulled out a worn-out cloak from the wardrobe, adjusting it over her shoulders and successfully covering most of her ridiculous attire. She extended a hand to allow Pascal to climb over her arm and settle over her shoulder, then she exited the bedroom.

She busied herself with packing enough food to last them three days while she waited for Flynn to come out of his bedroom and join them. Just as she had predicted, it wasn't long before his voice startled her a bit from behind.

"I thought I'd told you to pack _only_ what was absolutely necessary."

Rapunzel paused in her packing process to shoot him a blank look over her shoulder. "I do believe food is absolutely necessary."

Flynn raised a disbelieving eyebrow. " _That_ much food is necessary? Really?"

"Well, we never know how long it'll be before we have the chance to eat again." She shrugged dismissively and resumed her previous activity.

"We won't take more than a day and a half to get to th- what are you wearing...?" Flynn's slightly miffed expression instantly changed to one of bewilderment as soon as she turned around to face him. She didn't miss how his wide eyes lingered just a second longer over her cleavage.

Fidgeting slightly under his scrutinizing stare, she adjusted the cloak to cover her whole frame and hide herself from prying eyes. "My dress was almost torn to pieces, I couldn't wear it any longer." There was a defensive hint in her voice that made Flynn avert his eyes for a moment. "I tried to fix one of the old dresses I found in the wardrobe to fit me a bit more properly, but this is the best I could do."

"Yeah. Well, whatever." Flynn shook his head as if to get rid of a particularly unpleasant thought and waved a dismissive hand in her direction. "Take out all that food from the satchel, it'll only slow us down if we have the need to escape from the guards."

"But what will we eat then?"

"We'll get some food on the way." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Rapunzel raised a disapproving eyebrow. "You mean we'll steal some food on our way?"

To his credit, Flynn looked just the slightest bit offended. "I do have money of my own, I'll have you know."

"Which comes from stealing, I suppose?" She thought she shouldn't be feeling slightly pleased with the idea of annoying him just a bit more.

She couldn't help herself, though.

"What are you, the Captain of the Guards? What's it to you anyway?" She thought his slightly defensive frown was more than a bit amusing.

Rapunzel suppressed a giggle as she unpacked the food she had previously put in the satchel. "Fine, fine, I don't care. As long as you don't kill us from starvation, I won't ask where your money comes from." She pursed her lips against a smirk as Flynn scoffed behind her.

"Okay, enough chatting, we're leaving now. The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll return and then we both can forget this whole thing ever happened." He made his way toward the center of the room, opened the trapdoor and disappeared below it, leaving it open for her to follow.

She closed the satchel and swung the strap over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she chanced a look at Pascal.

"You ready?" Her chameleon friend nodded firmly in reply. She took a step closer to the trapdoor and then stopped. Her stomach was a knot of nerves and her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

She could still go back on her word right? She could tell Flynn to forget this whole thing, to send the ransom note and let her parents pay for her rescue. She could go back home safe and sound.

Surprisingly enough, she felt somewhat safe hidden behind the walls of the abandoned tower. Flynn left her alone for the majority of the time, and she was free to do whatever she pleased as long as she stayed inside. Outside in the unknown world, there could be any sort of danger, plus she would have to endure Flynn's presence every waking moment. Anything could happen during that trip, and every single thing she did affected her reputation and her family's honor

Was it all really worth it just for the chance to have a taste of what life outside the palace felt like?

"You coming, Blondie?" Flynn's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

She sighed nervously and stepped closer toward the trapdoor. "Okay... Here goes nothing."

* * *

In all honesty, Flynn wasn't surprised when the start of their journey didn't go according to plan. He already knew the young woman he was dealing with was far from what he would normally expect from royalty, he knew she was a bit... special, one would even call her weird judging by the pet frog she kept with her at all times and with whom she liked to converse. What he hadn't been expecting was for her to show even more signs of... her possible mental instability.

It had all started since the moment they'd left the clearing hidden by the vine curtain. At first she'd been slightly hesitant to leave the tower behind, then she had proceeded to chat excitedly with her weird frog about their impending journey. Rapunzel had skipped all the way to the tunnel that lead to the valley's exit, there was a cheerful bounce in her step and an elated grin on her face. She was a whirlwind of excitement and happiness.

The moment they'd passed through the vine curtain though, her cheerful spree ended, and was replaced by a wide-eyed look on her face.

Everything went downhill from then on.

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." She muttered under her breath, her eyes widening in disbelief. "I _can't_ believe I'm doing this." The hints of a smile were beginning to pull at the corners her lips, and Flynn didn't know whether to feel slightly annoyed or concerned.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" She let out an excited whoop as she jumped gleefully in circles. If Flynn didn't know any better, he'd say she was beginning to lose her mind.

Oh, if he'd only known...

Suddenly her excitement seemed to die out like an extinguished flame. Rapunzel rested her fisted hands over her temples as her eyes widened once more. "My parents will be so disappointed."

That's when the princess decided that it was a good time to have an emotional breakdown.

"Well, that's okay. I mean, what they don't know won't kill them, right?" She asked no one in particular as she held a water lily in her hands, as if they had the time to spare admiring a particularly good looking pond.

They hadn't even walked that far when she'd stopped inside a cave to lament herself once more. "Oh my gosh, this will kill them."

He couldn't quite disagree. If the King and Queen found out about their daughter's plan, they'd surely have a stroke.

Surprisingly enough, the sudden drop in her mood was short-lived. A few moments later she was running around through piles of fallen leaves, taking great delight in spreading them around in a splash of green. "This is so fun!"

He was more than a bit surprised by her abrupt mood-swings. Her excited giggles only lasted for a short while, and before he knew it, she had climbed over a tree and was resting her forehead against the trunk while she moaned in regret. "I am a horrible daughter. I'm going back."

He almost cheered loudly and imitated her excited bounces. He would gladly take her back personally if it was necessary.

But of course, the heavens weren't going to be merciful with him.

"I am never going back!" The princess laughed gleefully. Flynn supposed this was some kind of punishment sent to him from above to make him pay for all his wrong deeds. And oh, how he was beginning to regret every single one of them.

Rapunzel somersaulted and let herself tumble down a small hill, letting her impossibly long strands of hair curl around her and envelop her entire frame completely. Perhaps, if he hadn't been so perplexed and slightly annoyed by her bipolar behavior he would have actually found it adorable when she cheered excitedly and stuck her hands out of the strands of golden hair curled around her.

He dismissed the thought before it had even finished forming in his head.

He wasn't surprised when a few minutes later, Rapunzel decided to drop face down over a field of overgrown flowers, her guilty conscience turning on her again. "I am a despicable human being."

Yes, he could agree with that. Did he really deserve to go through this kind of torture? Guess it was his own fault for kidnapping a crazy princess.

And once more, her saddened mood didn't last long before she was swinging from the branches of an enormous tree, using her hair as a rope and cheering as if she had never been or felt this free in her entire life. Flynn almost pitied the thought.

"Whoohoo! Best. Day. Ever!"

Despite the fact that she had been going through her weird, almost bipolar mood-swings since the moment they'd left the tower, Flynn nearly panicked when she sat down a few minutes later and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Well, that was certainly a new one. His distress didn't last long though, and was soon replaced by a mix of exasperation and resignation.

He wasn't a babysitter, he didn't have the need to be consoling a distraught, emotionally unstable princess.

He approached her half-heartedly at first, with the sole intention of urging her to resume their long journey, when a genius idea stroke him.

She was clearly feeling incredibly guilty about her decision to make this journey and fool everyone around her, making her parents, and the entire kingdom worry beyond belief.

And she was absolutely right, that was a particularly selfish decision to make, wasn't it? But what if he could fix it? He had the perfect way to do it. He could guilt-trip her into going back to the palace. He could convince her to forget about this ridiculous idea and return home. That would be best for all, he would actually be doing her a favor.

Hell, the whole kingdom could be in debt with him for convincing their weirdly rebellious princess to go back home.

Not to mention that he would get rid of her sooner than he had expected.

Flynn came to stand right next to her, then cleared his throat dramatically for good measure. When she didn't seem to notice him, he squatted down to her level.

"You know, I can't help but notice you seem a little at war with yourself here."

Her soft sobs stopped, and she lifted her face from behind her palms to shoot him a confused look. "What?"

"Now, I'm only picking up bits and pieces of course," he waved a dismissive hand as he stood up. "I understand you feel guilty about going through with your plan, lying to everyone, disappointing your parents, defrauding your entire kingdom, I mean this is serious stuff!"

Her puffy eyes regarded him with a hint of panic. Perfect, this would work just fine. "But let me ease your conscience; this is part of growing up. A little rebellion, a little adventure, that's fun, healthy even!" He exclaimed with an utterly fake, lighthearted tone, suppressing a disgusted grimace as he carelessly waved his hand over his shoulder to get rid of the frog that had suddenly appeared there.

He was glad Rapunzel hadn't noticed the small exchange. She wiped her nose as she looked at him carefully at first, a small hesitant smile beginning to form in her lips. "You think?"

"I know. You're way overthinking this, trust me." He reassured adamantly, hopefully firmly enough to make it seem believable. Now, time to deliver the blow. "Do your parents deserve it? No. Will this break their heart and crush their soul? Of course! But you just _got_ to do it."

He waited for the immeasurable guilt to sink in... and there it was, just like he had predicted. He honestly thought he deserved a well-earned pat in the back.

"Break their heart?"

"In half."

"Crush their soul?" She looked incredibly distressed as she clutched a strand of hair in her fingers.

"Like a grape." He even gave himself the luxury to demonstrate it, crushing a real grape in between his fingers. If she hadn't blackmailed him and defied him at his own game, he would have considered feeling guilty. But alas, this was for the best.

"They _would_ be heartbroken, you're right!" Flynn helped her to her feet as she tightened her fist around her hair.

"I am, aren't I? Oh, bother!" He rested his hand over his heart in a fake gesture of regret and utter sadness. He supposed he was way overacting this, but she didn't seem to be noticing.

Sighing dramatically, he continued with his act. "All right, I can't believe I'm saying this but... I'm letting you out of the deal."

"What?!"

"That's right! But don't thank me." He said as he retrieved her things. "Let's just turn around and get you home. Here's your pan, here's your frog." He shoved them both into her arms and before she could protest, he started leading her forward. "We'll go back to the tower, I get back my satchel, you can get back home, enjoy your royal life full of wealth and luxury for the rest of your life and voilà! We part ways as unlikely friends."

He supposed he should've predicted she wasn't going to fall for that, she wasn't actually naïve.

Before they could move two steps further, she shoved him forcefully off her. "No! You don't understand, I am leaving the kingdom and you can't stop me."

Flynn wasn't usually a short-tempered guy. In fact, most of the time he was quite an easygoing fellow. But this was slowly killing his patience in the most excruciating way possible. "Oh, c'mon! What is it gonna take for me to get my satchel back!?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and for a moment he didn't know if he would end up regretting angering the young princess. "I will use this." She pointed her frying pan at him just like she had done that first night in the tower. "We had a deal Flynn and I swear you will never get your satchel back unless you take me out of Corona and then bring me back home safe and sound."

A frown of his own settled over his brow, the slight annoyance that had been bubbling deep inside him instantly transformed into downright anger. "Why, _why_ do you even want to get out of Corona just to end up going back in the end?" That was an honest to god doubt he had been pondering since she proposed her ridiculous deal. "You have literally _everything_ a sane girl would ever desire, hell, you have everything any person would ever want, so why do you want to leave it all behind so desperately?"

Her green eyes widened ever so slightly before lowering to the ground. "Y-you, you wouldn't understand."

He heaved an exasperated sigh. "Of course I wouldn't understand. The insignificant thief would never be able to understand the struggles of royal life, right?" He knew he was being incredibly cynical in every sense of the word, but he had a damn good reason to be more than a bit irritated with this situation.

She frowned indignantly, and her blazing eyes turned to glare at him once more. "No, you wouldn't understand _my_ struggles, as petty as you think they are. You'll never have to go through the same thing." She crossed her arms over her chest, her glare intensifying as she went on. "You'll never know what it is like to long for a life you cannot have, you'll never understand what it feels like when your life is being controlled by anyone but you, you'll never get it because you don't struggle for freedom, you've always had it!"

"You have the freedom to do whatever you please and go wherever you want to go, you don't have to live under the custody of thousands of eyes spying on you and judging your every move. You'll never understand what it is to live like that, you'll never understand that kind of struggle because you've never had to go through it!"

He was rendered speechless just for a moment, his eyes widening in disbelief. Was this girl serious? Her words rang deep in his ears, and for some reason, they fell uncomfortably too close to home. She'd manage to turn his irritation into rage.

"Oh I don't understand your struggle, do I?" His voice came out rough and low, and she took a hesitant step back from him, although her glare didn't lessen. "As if I have always lived a perfect life. Let me tell you a thing or two about a simple commoner's life, _Princess_." He spit the word out disdainfully and took a step forward, towering over her and making her intense glare falter slightly. "Because really, _you_ should be the one feeling grateful that you were born into royalty. You've never had to go through the struggles of real life."

"Have _you_ ever had to worry about having enough money to sustain yourself? Have you ever had to go to sleep, shivering under a single worn out blanket in the middle of winter, wondering if you would have a roof to sleep under the next night, or if you would even get to eat at all the following day?" His eyes narrowed dangerously as he watched her own widen, whether it was out of fear or surprise he didn't know, nor did he actually care. "Have you ever had to worry about not dying out of starvation or frostbite, or getting yourself a real job to be able to live somewhat safe under a simple roof and with just barely enough food to eat? Have you ever had to go through the struggles of real life?"

She took a frightened step back as he slowly closed the distance between them, too enraged to even consider that he was actually scaring her quite a bit. "Well I have news for you _Princess_ , that's the life of a commoner. Is that really the life you've been longing for?" He laughed snidely, his voice bitter and devoid of any sympathy. "You know nothing about real life, or what we have to go through and our own problems. So don't you _dare_ come here and tell me I don't know anything about struggle. I can in fact teach you a thing or two about living an unhappy life."

He whirled around and started walking away, not stopping to look if she was actually following him.

Rapunzel stood there speechless, eyes wide and chest heaving with every unsteady breath she took. After a few moments she seemed to regain her voice. "F-Flynn...? I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Save it, Princess. I don't need empty apologies."

"They're not empty apologies! I really mean it, I'm so-"

"Whatever, let's keep going. We already wasted enough time." Flynn kept walking without turning back to acknowledge her, and she silently followed behind.

He sighed heavily and rubbed his hand against his face. He cursed the day he decided to steal the Princess' crown, and the moment he decided it would be best to kidnap her than to let her rat him out.

He could already tell this was going to be an uncomfortably long journey. One he was definitely not looking forward to complete.

* * *

They walked silently through the dense woods for what felt like ages to her. Maybe if she could strike up any kind of conversation with her reluctant companion, time would seem to go by a lot quicker.

But Rapunzel knew she had screwed up. She had screwed up big time, and nothing she was trying to do to make up for her big mistake seemed to be working.

She had learned a new thing about Flynn, though. He was unbelievably obstinate. She had accidentally offended him beyond belief, and now nothing she was trying to do to amend the damage done seemed to be working in her favor. She had tried apologizing more than a dozen times, and every time she started, he would always interrupt her and dismiss her heartfelt attempts.

She had given up a few hours ago, and instead decided to start over as if nothing had happened.

That hadn't quite worked in her favor either.

So now here they were, silently crossing the woods, and Flynn wouldn't even turn to look at her. Not even to glare in her direction out of the corner of his eye.

Rapunzel didn't know which was actually worse, his snarky remarks, his spontaneous outrage or his silent treatment. The three of them annoyed her quite a bit, but she supposed she could endure the former two with relatively little complain. But him giving her the cold shoulder was something she knew was entirely her own fault, and it made her feel even guiltier than she had already been feeling.

She turned to look at Pascal, who wasn't of much help considering he was intent on glaring thoroughly at the back of Flynn's neck as if he could burn a whole in his head. Her little chameleon friend wasn't fond of Flynn shouting at her, regardless of the situation. She supposed she would have to keep an eye on him before he decided to stick his tongue in Flynn's ear again as punishment.

"So..." She commented nonchalantly, skipping ahead to fall into step with him. "How long is it going to take us to get there?"

"As long as it needs to take us."

Her hopeful expression fell as she regarded him carefully. His face was - as often- a blank mask almost impossible to read, but she could tell by his short answer that he was still annoyed with her. Rapunzel sighed regretfully.

"Aren't you hungry? I'm starving. Maybe we should stop to find some food." He merely shrugged in response.

She rolled her eyes, tired of his short replies. "Look Flynn, I really am sorry for what I said earlier. I swear I never meant to offend you, I was just..." She trailed off, looking for the right words to express her frustration and her honest remorse. This time, Flynn actually regarded her expectantly out of the corner of his eyes. "I don't know, it was dumb of me to assume you didn't know the struggles of wanting something desperately but knowing that you can't have it."

His stare stayed on her for a few seconds before falling back to the path ahead. "I guess I was just scared, and confused and frustrated with myself and the whole situation." Her gaze lowered to the ground as she kicked a pebble out of the way. "I'm torn in between doing what is right and following my heart. I wanted to have a little taste of what it would be like to forget about my responsibilities, and my reputation, and what people would say. I wanted to forget that I was a princess, if only for a little while."

Flynn's hard stare slowly softened as she spoke, and she could tell that, miraculously, she was actually getting him to listen to her for once.

She bit her lip anxiously, considering if it was really worth it to be completely honest with him. "Is it really that selfish of me to want a little freedom? Am I a horrible person?"

Flynn seemed surprised with her anguished question. His step faltered slightly as he regarded her carefully with calculating eyes. Rapunzel fought the urge to clutch a strand of hair in between her fists. Surprisingly enough she wanted, no, she _needed_ an honest answer from him. Anything to tell her that her actions weren't quite as nefarious and monstrous as her mind was making them seem.

They stayed silent for a few moments, her waiting with baited breath and him seemingly considering her question.

After a while, he finally shrugged. "I suppose I'm not quite the right person to answer that kind of question." He answered, a bitter smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "After all, I'm not exactly the most honest, selfless man out there, am I?"

She chuckled halfheartedly. "No, I suppose you're not."

"But, if you want my honest opinion; if I were you, I'd do exactly the same."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" She asked lightly, just a hint of worry hiding behind her teasing tone.

Flynn smirked. "Nope. But I've rarely ever regretted a decision I've made." He frowned slightly and added as an afterthought, "Well, that is until I found you, of course."

"Ha. Ha." She rolled her eyes playfully, deep down actually considering his answer. They both chuckled amusedly, slightly bewildered by this sudden lighthearted moment.

After a while, Rapunzel decided to break the somewhat comfortable silence. "So... Am I forgiven then?"

"For your indiscretion?" Flynn raised a teasing eyebrow, his mischievous smirk confirming that he was no longer annoyed with her. "Hmm... Still thinking about it."

"Oh c'mon, I already forgave you for kidnapping me." She smiled innocently, the same smile that had gotten her out of trouble with her tutors time and time again. "I'd say we're even."

"Pfft, hardly!" He scoffed. "Me kidnapping you presented you with this unique opportunity that you seem intent on taking advantage of. If anything I'm the one suffering and paying the consequences here!"

"Well, then you should've thought twice before kidnapping me. That is hardly my fault at all."

"Well then congratulations. Point for you, Your Majesty, I actually learned my lesson." Flynn rolled his eyes before bowing mockingly before her.

This time, he managed to elicit an unrestrained laugh from her. As soon as the sound of her laughter came out of her mouth she rested a hand over her lips, as if she could catch the treacherous sound and return it to its rightful place. Flynn seemed just as surprised - if not more- as her by this turn of events. He had the decency not to comment though, and resumed their previous walk as if nothing had even happened in the first place.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, as the sun began its slow descent across the blue sky. Rapunzel was really in need of something to eat though, and she was beginning to regret not bringing the food she had initially packed for their trip.

"Seriously, how far are we from getting there? I'm starving!" She moaned, her stomach growling loudly as if to prove her words.

"Hadn't you packed enough food to last a lifetime?"

A feeling of dread settled in her stomach. "You told me to unpack it because it would only get in the way!"

"Oh, right."

"We are not going to stop for food, are we?" She sighed heavily, already knowing the answer.

Flynn shrugged dismissively, rummaging in his satchel in search for something. It wasn't long before he pulled out a bright red apple that appeared far too appealing for her starving stomach.

"Here. Take it, I packed it just before we left the tower."

Rapunzel extended a hesitant hand to accept his offering. "But isn't it for you? Aren't you hungry too? We could share the apple, I don't mind."

Suddenly Flynn stopped abruptly in his tracks, making her stumble and almost crash into him in the process.

"Whoa, okay, you don't want to share, I get it-"

"Shh." Flynn held up a hand, signaling her to shut up. His eyes narrowed as he inspected the perimeter surrounding them. She tried to do the same, tried to detect whatever it was that had captured his attention. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary though.

"What is it? Is there someth-... Mph!"

"Shh!" He covered her mouth with his hand, muffling her startled squeak. Rapunzel narrowed her eyes in annoyance, struggling against his light grip until she lifted his hand from her mouth.

"I hate it when you do that." She muttered as quietly as possible as Flynn rolled his eyes, grasping her arm tightly in his hand and guiding her towards an enormous, thick bush.

They hid stealthily behind the leafy plant, the holes in between the thin branches leaving some of the path visible for them. Flynn held up a finger and pressed it against his lips in a silent gesture for her to keep quiet. That's when she finally heard it;

the sound of hooves stomping furiously against the ground, and the telltale clang of metal crashing against metal.

The Royal Guards.

They were approaching fast, and her heart started beating a frantic staccato against her ribcage.

If they found them it would all be over before it had even started.

Her panicked eyes turned back toward Flynn, but he was not paying attention to her. His light brown eyes widened in dismay, focusing on something in particular across the path they had come through.

She followed his gaze and felt her heart drop to her feet at the sight of her seventy feet of golden tresses sprawled all over the pathway.

She could see the shadow of the guards approaching in the distance.

Rapunzel immediately set on gathering whatever she could of her thick strands of hair in her arms, frantically pulling them toward the bush without actually coming out of her hiding spot. Her efforts were futile though, she could already hear the guards approaching closer and closer to their improvised lair.

She crawled just a few inches forward, unfortunately exposing herself to the exterior. Pulling as fast as she could manage, she gathered whatever she could from her hair. It was impossible, there was still too much out there, and the guards were close already.

Flynn pulled at the strands that were already hidden behind the bush, gathering as much as his arms could carry in an attempt to help her bring the golden locks exposed closer to the bush.

It wasn't enough. The guards were too close, if she didn't hide now, they would spot her. Flynn seemed to be thinking similarly. Just at the last moment, he enveloped his arms around her shoulders and pushed her body backwards, successfully hiding her behind the bush just in time as the guards were passing through their hiding spot.

Fortunately for both of them, what little locks of hair were left exposed in the open had come with her with the force of Flynn's sudden pull. She tried to contain her unsteady breathing as the guards passed impossibly slowly through the pathway, Flynn's arms tightening around her shoulders as if he was expecting her to suddenly jump out from behind the bush in a last-minute moment of regret.

They both waited tensely for what felt like ages, until the guards disappeared along the pathway, their voices fading in the distance as they continued on their way.

Rapunzel sighed heavily, slumping against Flynn's strong chest as relief washed over her like a wave crashing into the shoreline. She felt Flynn's arms relax and his grip around her shoulders lessen.

That's when she noticed something wasn't quite right...

"Uh, Flynn...?"

"Hmm?"

"...Get your hands off me."

"Oh, right." He jumped to his feet in an instant, absentmindedly dusting the dirt off his pants as he carefully regarded the path they had been following, and the spot where the guards had disappeared.

"I thought you said there would be less guards patrolling and searching through the woods." She commented as she dusted the dirt off her ancient cloak, coming to stand next to him.

"And we are lucky I was right. They weren't patrolling, they didn't even stop along the path." His brow furrowed slightly. "Those guards were headed toward MistHaven."

"Corona's borderline." She muttered under her breath, realization dawning on her. "And let me guess, we are headed there too." She suppressed a grimace as the pieces started falling into place in her head.

"Yup, that port is our only way out." He rubbed the back of his head tiredly. "It's the biggest around the kingdom, as you probably already know, meaning every merchant vessel arrives and leaves from there. I was hoping that would give us some cover and we'd be able to smuggle you out of the kingdom more easily."

"The guards will surely be patrolling the harbor day in and day out in hopes of stopping your kidnapper from taking you out of the kingdom." Flynn sighed exasperatedly. "And if I'm not mistaken, there'll only be more guards heading toward there, and they'll be crossing exactly the same path. Perfect!"

Rapunzel bit her lip nervously. "What are we gonna do now?"

Flynn seemed to ponder this for a few moments. His eyebrows suddenly lifted as a new idea apparently stroke him. "Are you hungry? I know just the right place to stop to eat."

She shot him a blank stare. Was he actually serious? She had been complaining about being hungry for the past half hour! "And where would that be?"

"Oh, don't you worry. You'll know it when you smell it." He smiled brightly, something that she was beginning to find naturally disconcerting, and took her by the arm, leading the way with a much more enthusiastic spring in his step.

She seriously hoped her suspicions were wrong and he wasn't actually plotting something again to get rid of her.

* * *

"I know it must be somewhere here..." Flynn muttered under his breath, his finger tapping against his chin as he looked carefully around. His eyes suddenly lit up as a bright smile grazed his features. "Ah, there it is! _'The Heart of Tartarus'_ "

"T-The what?!" Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as her gaze fell upon the dilapidated building. Standing somewhat tall and dark, the old inn seemed to rise enigmatically and totally out of nowhere in the middle of the woods.

Flynn seemed utterly amused by her reaction. "You'll find the name is quite fitting. The lowest scum of the kingdom gathers here often enough." He put his arm around her shoulder as he led her forward. "You know, thieves, ruffians, thugs, criminals of all sorts, they often reunite here to plot their villainous plans, gather and exchange secret information, or simply seek refuge for the night."

The more they approached the dark tavern, the more the name seemed fitting. The entire building seemed to be built out of ebony, providing the impossibly dark color of its walls. The windows were dusty and shady, making it almost impossible to see through or catch a glimpse toward its dark interior.

All in all, the old inn seemed like something brought out of a horror story.

"Why on earth would you bring me here, then!" She dug the heel of her shoes into the dirt, trying and failing to stop walking forward, but Flynn was insistent on pulling her along.

"Because, Princess, if we want to seek passage outside Corona, it will have to be illegal." He raised an eyebrow, a crooked smirk settling over his lips. "Plus, we'll have to have ears and eyes everywhere in order to know what the guards are planning and where they will be. What a better place to get all that than here?"

He stopped a short distance before the tavern, coming to stand right before her and resting both hands over her shoulders. "Now, listen carefully. No matter what happens or what you hear inside that place, you'll let me do all the talking, and you're going to stay completely silent, okay?" His gaze fell intense upon hers as he pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, hiding her hair and the majority of her face completely under the dark fabric.

"No one has to know who you are, Blondie. That is crucial. If anyone were to find out, they wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of the situation." Her eyes widened in distress and her heart skipped a beat inside her chest. "Don't forget this place is called that for a reason; it is infested with all sorts of criminals who wouldn't hesitate to get their filthy hands on a prize as lucrative as you."

"No matter what happens, you are not to speak a word, got it?"

Rapunzel hesitated only for a moment before nodding reluctantly. Flynn's answering bright smile seemed disconcerting beyond belief. His features suddenly depicted nothing but a pleasant satisfaction, as if this wasn't a dire situation and should be treated as such.

He payed her no mind as he guided her once more toward the looming tavern, his arm resting lightly over her shoulder. She considered telling him that she could walk on her own, and she didn't need his arm around her shoulder to guide her.

The moment he opened the door to the tavern, the words died down in her throat.

Flynn hadn't been lying, the inn was bursting with ruffians and all kinds of mysterious looking people. The place was slightly crowded, although not too much as to make the tavern seem overfilled. The faint light that the single candelabra in the room provided made the place appear darker and looming.

She supposed the faint shadows casted all over the place granted a weird sense of privacy, but it only made the tavern seem shadier than what she had been expecting.

She walked silently side by side with Flynn as he guided her through rows of haphazardly accommodated tables, his expression blank and nonchalant, a somewhat pleasant smirk gracing his lips.

He strutted in as if he owned the place, overflowing confidence and maybe even slight arrogance, his head held high and his eyes firmly set on the bar at the far end of the room, completely disregarding the dirty looks and suspicious glances he was getting from the patrons.

Everyone turned to look at them as they made their way across the tavern. Rapunzel felt slightly paranoid as she avoided their menacing stares. Unlike Flynn, she kept her head low and her eyes fixed upon the dirty, sticky floor, huddling closer to Flynn's side - much to her chagrin - as they approached the bar before them.

Flynn settled himself over an empty barstool in front of the bar and patted the one next to him in a silent command for her to follow. The moment they both sat down, everyone resumed their previous activities, a silent murmur filling the room as if nothing had interrupted their mysterious, hushed conversations.

Rapunzel swallowed a relieved sigh.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't Flynn Rider!"

A sturdy, mean-looking man made his way from behind the bar, approaching them with a peculiar gait in his step. The malicious grin hiding behind his thick beard made Rapunzel bite her lips in distress.

Flynn smiled pleasantly, as if he had been expecting the man to approach them since the moment they'd entered the tavern. "Gustav! Long time no see."

"Indeed, it has been a long time." The enormous man stopped right before them, his prominent belly wiggling as he chortled sinisterly. "What have ye been up to these days? The last time I saw yer sorry face here ye were plotting something with the Stabbingtons." He spoke with a peculiar, somewhat faded accent Rapunzel couldn't quite pinpoint.

"Oh nothing interesting, you know, here and there doing some jobs, hiding from the guards, the usual stuff." Flynn shrugged nonchalantly.

The burly bartender lifted a thick eyebrow, his expression clearly skeptical. "How curious. It's not like ye to keep unnoticed. Usually whenever ye come strutting in my tavern, yer bragging about yer latest achievement."

"What can I say, a man needs his rest once in a while."

"I bet..."

Rapunzel could tell that this man was set on interrogating Flynn about his latest activities, and something told her he wouldn't relent until he managed to get something out of the young thief.

Flynn seemed to have realized this since the moment the man had shown up, and she was surprised that he wasn't showing the slightest sign of worry. His face was a perfect mask of cool indifference and his usual nonchalance.

However, this time he tried to stir the conversation away from such prodding questions. "How about you bring us some drinks and then we can talk. I bet there is much to discuss."

"Aye, there is much to talk about." This time, the bartender's stare settled on her, his dark eyes narrowing as he examined her carefully. For some reason, she felt as if his intense glare could look right through the shadow that her cloak provided across her face, and he knew exactly who she was and what she was hiding.

She fidgeted uncomfortably on her seat.

"I see ye decided to bring some company." Gustav's lips curled into a disgusting smirk. "Who's yer new wench?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She let out an indignant gasp, ready to defend her own honor and give this burly man a piece of her mind, however Flynn jumped in before she got the chance to utter a single word.

"I wouldn't call her that if I were you." His pleasant smirk had disappeared, and although his tone seemed relaxed and unthreatening, the look in his eyes was dead serious. She couldn't tell if his lips were pursing against an amused smile or a disgusted frown, but she assumed it was the former. After all, he seemed to be great at keeping up appearances.

Gustav's thick eyebrows lifted in surprise, an amused smirk settling on his lips. "Don't tell me ye've got a soft spot for her?"

Flynn snorted in response. "Oh, believe me, that's not the case at all."

Gustav rolled his eyes and turned around, fetching some tankards and filling them with ale from the enormous barrels stacked against the wall.

He set the mugs down before them, the contents of the overflowing tankards spilling across the wooden surface of the bar. Flynn didn't waste time in taking a large gulp from his mug, not even wincing at the bitter flavor.

Rapunzel glanced carefully at her own tankard, examining the dark liquid inside as if it was poison. She pursed her lips and pushed it aside.

"Ye know, I've heard some interesting rumors concerning ye, Rider." Gustav commented, taking a swig from his own mug

"Have you?" Flynn raised a curious eyebrow, the corner of his lips lifting into a crooked smirk. "Well, go on then, what has been said about me?"

"I suppose ye've heard about the kidnapping of the Princess of Corona in yer unexpected absence?"

Rapunzel felt her heart rate quicken at the mention of her, she inhaled deeply in a poor attempt to calm her frantic nerves.

Flynn seemed completely unfazed by the question. "I have, yes. The whole kingdom is moving heaven and earth trying to find her." He took another large gulp of his ale, crossing his arms over his chest in a carefree gesture. "It was quite the scandal, indeed."

"Aye, it was." The burly man chuckled darkly. "The little bastard who had the balls to do such a thing was either too clever or a complete idiot."

"I bet he's regretting it now..." Flynn muttered under his breath. Rapunzel kicked his shin under the table.

"The entire kingdom is searching for the kidnaper. Did ye know there's a high prize over his head?" Gustav raised his thick eyebrows, his greedy expression made Rapunzel's stomach twist unpleasantly.

Flynn, however, wasn't showing any signs of being the slightest bit worried about this development. "I'd say that's a bit useless considering nobody actually knows the identity of this man."

"I suppose yer right." Gustav regarded him carefully for a moment. "Ye wouldn't happen to know who this mysterious man is, would ye?"

Oh god, he knew. The bartender knew, he _had_ to know. Or at least he suspected it. Why else would he be interrogating Flynn about this particular subject?

Flynn snorted derisively. "How would I know? Believe me, if I had any idea, I would've already ratted him out and I'd be happily enjoying the money of the reward now."

Gustav shrugged his burly shoulders, his expression still slightly skeptical. "I don't know. Told ye there've been rumors." He inspected his tankard and downed what was left of his drink. "People have been saying it could've been ye."

This time Rapunzel could tell Flynn almost choked on his drink. "Me?! Why would it be me?"

"Ye tell me, Rider." He set his mug down a bit more forcefully than necessary and leaned in across the bar to look at Flynn directly in the face. "Ye know more than anyone that yer considered the best thief in the entire kingdom. Who else could've pulled out something like that, and escaped to tell the tale?"

Flynn leaned away from Gustav's scrutinizing stare, frowning slightly in annoyance. "C'mon Gustav, that's ridiculous. Do you honestly think I'd be parading around the kingdom without a single concern if I had the Princess with me? I would've gotten the hell away from Corona the first chance I'd got."

This seemed to make the enormous man reconsider his accusation, however his doubtful frown remained.

"I've heard that the Stabbingtons were involved in the whole thing."

This seemed to have finally gotten a reaction out of Flynn. His previously non-expressive eyes widened ever so slightly, although Gustav didn't seem perceptive enough to notice. "Oh, really?"

"They escaped the guards, however, and now are on the run hiding somewhere in the woods."

"How can you tell they are not the ones who kidnapped the Princess?"

"They wouldn't have been able to escape fast enough while carrying a young woman on their backs, now would they?"

Flynn hid his smirk behind the rim of his tankard as he took a large swig of his drink. "Point taken."

"Now that we've discussed that special matter..." Gustav scowled menacingly. "Why are ye really here, Rider? Yer not just here under a pretense, so what is it ye want?"

Flynn set his mug down carefully. "Well, I may not have kidnapped the Princess, but I'm still the most wanted - well second most wanted now- thief in the kingdom." He shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest in an uninterested gesture. "I'm still in hiding and apparently, the idiot who kidnapped the Princess has just made it even harder for me."

"I was traveling through the forest, but the guards have been patrolling every last corner of the Kingdom in search for the Princess." Flynn's features took on a more serious expression, his eyes firmly set over Gustav's narrowed ones. "I need a place to stay for the night."

Rapunzel's stomach twisted anxiously. She was hoping they wouldn't be spending the night in this shady inn.

Gustav raised a thick eyebrow. "And what makes ye think I'll let ye stay here?"

"Oh, please, your entire tavern is overcrowded with criminals. You cannot possibly tell me my presence will make a difference." Flynn scoffed. "I have enough money to pay you for the stay."

"The guards are offering a very tempting reward for yer capture, did ye know that?" The burly man's lips twisted into a sinister grin.

Flynn's eyebrows furrowed into an exasperated scowl. "Yes, I am aware of that." He muttered through gritted teeth, his patience clearly wearing thin.

"I do believe that increases quite a bit the prize for yer stay, Rider."

Flynn pursed his lips and pulled out a small pouch from his satchel, tossing it over the bar for Gustav to catch.

"Will that be enough to shut your mouth?"

The bartender examined the contents of the pouch with critical eyes. "Depends..."

"On what?" Flynn almost growled, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Gustav threw him a menacing stare, his bear-like complexion appearing even more threatening than before. "If I find out the rumors I've been hearing are in fact true, ye can bet yer sorry arse I'll be getting ye myself to the guards. I don't want any unnecessary troubles in my tavern, and if yer presence leads the guards here to inspect the inn, I'll be kicking ye out without a second thought."

"Are we clear, Rider?"

"Couldn't have made it clearer, Gustav." He threw him a mocking grin as the bartender grunted grumpily in response. "By the way, could you maybe bring us the house special? We're starving."

With a miffed harrumph, Gustav made his way toward the back of the tavern, disappearing behind a dark wooden door.

There was a moment of silence as Rapunzel regarded him with wide eyes.

"How could to do that?"

"Hmm?"

"How could you lie to him like that without even battling an eyelash!" She exclaimed in a hushed voice, completely in awe with the situation. "You almost made _me_ believe you."

"Well, I'm a thief, Blondie. We're experts on treachery and deceive." He shrugged dismissively, a satisfied smirk on his face.

She didn't know whether to feel impressed or slightly scared. If he could lie so easily to a man like Gustav, he could lie to her any time he felt like it as well, and she wouldn't even notice it.

Like she'd thought before, Flynn Rider was a dangerous man. She had to remind herself not to trust him at all.

The bartender returned with two bowls in his hand, which he promptly set before them with a little more force than what was absolutely necessary. He slammed a single key next to Flynn's bowl, and disappeared without saying a single word.

Rapunzel examined carefully the contents of the bowl, pursing her lips slightly at the mysterious-looking broth. She couldn't tell exactly what was floating around the soup, and quite frankly she was afraid to ask.

"What's this?" She stirred a spoon around it, not wanting to think about the thickness of the suspicious-looking dish.

Flynn seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as he appeared to be repressing a grimace while he took a spoonful to his mouth. "About the only edible thing they serve in this godforsaken tavern."

He swallowed, apparently not affected by the taste, and pointed his spoon toward her own bowl. "Eat up, Blondie. Like you said before, we don't know when we will get the chance to eat again."

She inhaled deeply as she took a taste of the broth, surprised to find out it wasn't even half bad. Or maybe she really was starving, who knows.

They ate silently, too engrossed in their own thoughts to even acknowledge the other. After a while, Rapunzel finally spoke again.

"You know, the meal was actually not that bad." She set the spoon down carefully, probably too elegantly for a girl eating in a tavern full of drunken thugs. "Although I am a bit thirsty."

"You haven't even touched your drink."

"I can't possibly drink that!" She was sure her widened eyes made her look a little too scandalized by the suggestion.

Flynn rolled his eyes. "What? Not a drink for a respectable lady?" He smirked mockingly. "Would you prefer some tea, or maybe some red wine, your majesty?"

"Don't call me that!" She muttered through gritted teeth.

Flynn chuckled amusedly. "I thought that was exactly why you wanted to do this whole thing in the first place. Didn't you want to be free to do whatever you wanted to do without anyone judging you?"

She averted her eyes, suddenly too interested in her tankard still overfilled with ale.

"Well, now's the perfect moment. No one here knows who you are, and it's not even a rare occurrence to see a woman drinking in a tavern like this."

She considered his words for a moment, and then quickly took a small sip of the alcoholic drink before she could regret her decision.

She screwed her eyes shut at the strong taste, gagging slightly as the alcohol seemed to be burning down her throat. Her eyes watered as she coughed, trying to get rid of the horrid bitter taste in her mouth.

Flynn actually laughed at her reaction. "You'll get used to the taste eventually."

"Are you kidding?! I'm not drinking that thing ever again!" She squeaked through her coughs, gingerly pushing away the tankard.

Flynn shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine then, more for me."

He seemed to down the drink in no time at all, and her eyes widened before narrowing disapprovingly. "Now is not the time to get drunk, Flynn!"

He scoffed. "Please, it takes much more than this to get me drunk."

She rolled her eyes, rising from her seat and smoothing out the skirt of her dress. "I'm tired. I'd like to go to my room now, if you don't mind."

Flynn set the tankard down with a thud, taking the key and replacing it with a few coins as payment for their simple meal.

"Let's go, then."

He guided her through the haphazardly accommodated rows of tables toward the corner of the room, where there was a set of stairs disappearing in the darkness ahead.

They made their way upstairs, making it to a dimly lit hallway where a set of doors each leading to a different room awaited them. Flynn took the lead, guiding her through the corridor with a certain hesitance in his step.

He stopped before one of the doors almost at the end of the hallway, introducing the key to the keyhole and jiggling it a few times before the old, rusty lock worked.

The room was completely engulfed in darkness when they stepped in, and Flynn rummaged through his satchel in search of flints to light up the worn out candles around the room.

Once the room was lit, she examined it curiously, her eyes sweeping across the simple and somewhat untidy place. The bed was little compared to the one she had occupied back in the tower, and there was a single old cabinet and a broken mirror above it hung on the wall.

It wasn't exactly the place she would choose to spend the night, but she supposed it would have to do for now.

She turned around, and her eyes widened as she saw Flynn closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing!" She squeaked, taking a step closer.

"Closing the door?" He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I think you forgot something." She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling slightly invaded as she regarded him with a frown on her face. "You have to _get out_ first before closing the door."

Flynn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as if he couldn't quite comprehend what she was saying. Then his face cleared as realization dawned on him.

"Oh, you actually thought I'd payed for two rooms?"

Dread slowly crept its way across Rapunzel's chest. "Y-You didn't...?

"Of course not! A single room costed me almost all the money I had, you honestly think I'd pay for two rooms just for your comfort?"

Her heartbeat quickened at this disturbing revelation. "B-but... y-you can't... I mean... you can't stay in here!"

"Well, unless you'd want me to sleep outside, I don't see a problem with sharing a room." He replied, carelessly hanging his satchel over a hook on the wall.

"Well I do! It is extremely inappropriate, and scandalous, and you're crazy if you think I'll let you stay in my room!" A strange sense of panic settled deep in her stomach as a contemplative smirk graced Flynn's lips. He seemed like a predator that had just found the weak spot of its prey, and couldn't wait to use it against it.

"Oh, don't tell me you're actually worried about your reputation _now_." He closed the door carefully behind him, now hiding the room from prying eyes and curious ears. "Wasn't that just what you were avoiding to think about with your whole crazy idea?"

Rapunzel frowned indignantly. "Losing my reputation wasn't what I was trying to achieve!"

"Oho, I think you should've thought about that before, Blondie." His mocking smirk widened into a wicked smile. "I do believe you lost your good reputation the moment you decided to strike a deal with the most wanted criminal in the kingdom."

"Nobody knows about that Flynn, and _no one_ has to find out, _ever_!" She muttered decisively, wringing her hands nervously as the repercussions of her foolish idea suddenly hit her like a slap in the face. "But the whole tavern saw us going upstairs together, can you imagine what people would say if they found out I shared a room with you?"

Flynn rolled his eyes. "And no one down there even knows who you are!" He threw his hands up in an exasperated gesture.

"I am _not_ sharing a room with you, and that's final." She said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Fine then." Flynn shrugged, clearly not caring about her decision in the slightest. "Since _I_ payed for this room, and _I_ am the one guiding you around like your distressed nanny, and you can't go anywhere without _me_ , I am going to stay right here, and you can sleep outside for all I care."

Her mouth dropped as she let out an affronted exclamation. "Y-y-you...! I-I... You are a... Ugh! I hate you!"

His answering smirk wasn't comforting at all. "You know, I find your reaction quite unusual." He took a step closer to her, his eyes sparkling dangerously. "Most women are usually overjoyed at the idea of sharing a room with me."

"I can't imagine why." She replied, standing her ground as Flynn's smirk suddenly turned -...was it flirty? - rather than teasing, his eyelids dropping and his voice suddenly lower and huskier than usual.

"Maybe you'd like to find out." Her eyes widened as she realized he was getting dangerously close now, and she shouldn't have felt that shiver running down her spine at his husky voice and that crooked smirk.

So she panicked. She gripped the handle of the frying pan she had been hiding under her cloak firmly in her hand as she took a step back, her eyes narrowing threateningly. "Flynn...? Don't take a step closer or I swear I'll-"

The sound of his carefree laughter interrupted her train of thought. "Relax, Blondie, I'm just teasing." He chuckled, his smirk morphing into a somewhat amused smile. "I wouldn't actually try anything with such a respectable lady like you."

She threw him a peeved look as her lips pursed in annoyance at his mocking tone.

"Look, you'll stay in the bed and I'll sleep on the floor. I won't even be close to you, what's the problem with that?"

"That you'll still be _in_ the room, that's the problem!" She exclaimed, already dreading the whole situation.

Flynn let out a tired sigh. "Look, Blondie, I hate this situation probably more than you do. You wanted to get out of the kingdom, you forced me to take you and get involved in your crazy plan, now you have to deal with the consequences."

She averted her gaze indignantly as he went on. "You were so wrong if you thought living a life outside the palace would be full of comfort and luxuries. I won't be paying for two rooms in every inn we have to stay just so you feel more comfortable, so you better get used to the idea of sharing a room with me."

She considered his words for a moment, sighing regretfully as her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, _fine_ , you'll sleep on the floor and I'll stay on the bed." Her eyes narrowed not a moment later, as she pointed a finger to him. "But no funny business Rider, because I swear if I find you even remotely closer to my bed than you should be, I will rip your hands off myself."

He lifted his hands up in a sign of mocking surrender. "Oh, believe me I wouldn't dare."

"Good." Rapunzel turned his back to him, removing her cloak and hanging it over the back of a rickety chair next to the bed.

She almost went into cardiac arrest when she turned around to be met by the sight of Flynn removing his clothes.

"What are you doing?!"

He shot her a weird-out look, as if he had suddenly realized he had, in fact, kidnapped an insane woman. "Uh... taking off my vest...?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, her lips pursing in disapproval. "Oh, c'mon, you don't actually expect me to sleep with my boots and my vest, on, do you?" When she didn't answer he groaned in annoyance.

"Would you relax already, Blondie? I'm not going to do anything to you." His eyebrows furrowed indignantly. "Contrary to your belief, I'm not the kind of man to take advantage of an unwilling woman."

"Well you can't blame me for being suspicious, can you? You did kidnap me, after all."

"Fair enough."

She adjusted the covers of the bed, ready to climb on and hide herself from the world under the dusty blankets, but she couldn't help giving him one last warning. "I mean it Flynn, I don't want you any closer to my bed, or you'll force me to use my frying pan."

Flynn looked thoroughly tired of this whole conversation. "And you have my word; I won't get near you."

She threw him one last suspicious glance before climbing over the bed and settling herself comfortably under the covers.

"Not that I'd want to, anyway. I'm not interested." He added as an afterthought.

Rapunzel threw him a pillow that successfully hit him square in the face

He grinned cheekily in return. "Thanks, I actually needed one."

She grumbled under her breath as she settled more comfortably under the thick blankets, all the while wondering if enduring Flynn's exasperating presence was really worth it.

And no, she wouldn't be thinking at all about the way his shirt clung to his body in a totally unappealing way, of course. Not that she was even looking anyway.

Ugh... Of all the dumb ideas she had ever had, this was probably the worst.

* * *

 **So the adventure has just begun and these two just don't seem to get along. Any ideas of what might happen in the next chapter? Feel free to leave a comment or any suggestions.**

 **You know I really appreciate your opinion, so don't hesitate to leave a review on your way out!** **Until next time :)**


	5. Stowaway

**Chapter 5: Stowaway**

 **I want to thank all of those who left a review or a favorite/alert for this story in the last chapter. Sorry it took this long to update, but here it is! The newest chapter to WLB, and an extremely long one to compensate for the long wait. So for those who liked flirty Flynn in the last chapter, you're gonna love this one too.**

 **Disclaimer: nope don't own anything.**

* * *

 _Cause I can see that the candle you hold inside has a cloud around it._

 _How can a heart like yours be that high and dry, when it burns the brightest?_

 _~Shout About It_

* * *

"He smiled charmingly at the beautiful princess before him, and with a final wave of his hand he hopped onto his white stallion, promising the young maiden that he would return one day. And with that, Flynnigan Rider pulled at the reins of his magnificent steed, urging him forward and riding off into the horizon, ready for the next big adventure. The end." Eugene finished with a satisfied grin, chuckling lightheartedly at the chorus of disappointed exclamations coming from his young audience.

"Read it again! Read it again!" The small girl beside him pleaded, her pigtails flopping against her puffy cheeks as she bounced in her seat. The girl's pleading was followed by the sound of a dozen more voices asking him to read the story again. He was more than a bit amused by their eagerness.

"But I just finished reading it." He smirked, already knowing the answer he was going to receive. "Besides, it's already late."

"No, it's not!" Another boy exclaimed, his slightly long bangs falling over his eyes and smile missing a tooth. "We're not tired yet." The other kids exclaimed their agreement, even though he could clearly see their slightly dropping eyelids and more than one trying to hide a yawn behind pudgy hands.

"Please read it again, Eugene."

Eugene's smile softened. He wasn't close to admitting that he had a soft spot for the younger children, the ones with whom he shared half of the already few things the orphanage provided for them, with their wide innocent eyes and gap-toothed smiles, pudgy hands and puffy cheeks. They all shared one thing in common; they were alone in a world that was far too cruel for them. They had no one but each other.

Life at the orphanage was anything but easy. There were times where there wasn't enough food to feed the children, or not enough money to buy half-descent clothes for the winter. They all learned to share what little they had, and looked after each other given the fact that they had no one else to care for them but themselves.

And Eugene had somehow taken up the roll of older brother, the one who took care of them when no one else would, the one who cheered them up on particularly sad days, the one they went to talk about their problems to, the one they reached for on stormy nights trusting him to protect them from any harm. They looked up to him, trusted him. And in return, over the years he developed a characteristic protective side and a secret fondness for each and every one of his orphanage companions

But companionship was as far as it could go. Getting attached to anyone at the orphanage meant getting hurt in the end. He knew that all too well. Being the oldest kid in the orphanage meant watching all the younger kids grow up, share everything with them, look after them as if they were his younger siblings, and expect to say goodbye to them forever any other day.

But for the time being, who was he to deny them what little made them happy? He couldn't quite bring himself to say no to those wide innocent eyes. He heaved a dramatic sigh, rolled his eyes and raised his hand, successfully silencing the excited chorus of voices pleading him to read again.

"Okay, fine. But only half of the story." He conceded, already opening the old book in the first page. The kids barely had time to celebrate before their cheers were silenced once more.

"Absolutely not. You lot are already past your curfew!" Eugene winced slightly as the strong voice of Mrs. Hilda, the orphanage's headmistress, boomed across the room. He already knew what was coming; he would surely get in trouble for keeping the younger kids awake for longer than allowed.

He could see the disappointment clouding the kids' previously excited stares, but they knew better than to complain. Mrs. Hilda wasn't exactly a patient woman. "I want you all in bed in less than five minutes! And tomorrow I want you rise and shine by sunrise and in your best behavior. It's going to be Parents' Day."

That sure did it. Their slightly downcast mood instantly morphed into and excitement spree. Before he could even blink twice, they were all running up the stairs, cheering loudly and giggling as they went. Eugene on the other hand could already feel the dread pooling at the bottom of his stomach.

Parents' Day was the worst day in Eugene's opinion. At the early age of eleven, he was no longer naïve enough to believe that he would ever leave the orphanage nestled between the arms of a new family. He was already too old. Parents didn't want a grown up kid to be a part of their family. It was rare the days that a young couple came to the orphanage to look for a kid to adopt. And whenever they did, he could be almost certain that they would take any other kid but him.

He couldn't say that it hadn't hurt, waiting every year expectantly and watching as kids came and went, as his other companions would get picked but he would always remain in the end, wondering if maybe next time he would be lucky enough to leave the orphanage with a new family who wanted him. As the years went by that illusion had died little by little. Time and time again parents would come, and each time he would be left behind. Until eventually, he had stopped expecting anything else.

For him, Parents' Day meant he would have to say goodbye to a few of the younger kids, never to see them again, and yet he would remain in the dusty old room that he shared with the rest of the orphan children. He would forever be a reject, just as he'd always been. An orphan boy without a past and without a future to look forward to.

Twisting his mouth in a slight grimace, Eugene closed the book with a heavy sigh, mentally preparing himself for a long day tomorrow. Maybe he would go hide in the attic and spend his day reading books under the light of a candle. It's not like anyone would miss him anyway, the other kids would be way too excited to even notice his absence.

He was just about to leave the room when the voice of the old matron interrupted his line of thoughts. "Not so fast, Eugene. We need to talk."

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes in annoyance, Eugene whirled around to face the woman. "I don't believe I did anything wrong, Mrs. Hilda." He tried an innocent smile, maybe he would manage to convince the headmistress to assign him a less torturous punishment for keeping the younger kids awake without permission.

The plump woman raised an unconvinced eyebrow behind her half-moon glasses. "I never said that you did."

Huh, that was new. Usually he would get chastised for whatever shenanigans he was prone to commit. He had to admit he wasn't exactly an easy boy to deal with. He stared at the old matron expectantly, waiting for her to speak again and unsure if any comment from his part would be welcomed. He had been accused of being a far too cheeky and sassy boy for his own good.

Mrs. Hilda waited a few moments, as if searching for the right words, and then finally spoke. "I want you to pack up all your belongings and wait for me in the hallway outside the bedrooms."

That was all she said. If Eugene didn't know any better he would say the old headmistress was in fact avoiding eye-contact. He didn't have enough time to process the orders he had just received before the woman left the room. And once he did, he was assaulted by a mix of bewilderment and uneasiness.

Why would he need to pack his things? Was he being kicked out of the orphanage? The thought sent a shiver down his spine. Sure, he didn't exactly like the orphanage, with its old worn-out furniture, dusty windows and cold, dark rooms. But it was the closest thing he had to a home. It was the only thing keeping him from starving alone in the streets. What would he do if they kicked him out?

With a feeling of dread even greater than before, he slowly made his way upstairs, heading into his room. It didn't take him long to pack the very few belongings that he actually owned. The kids with whom he shared a room were already asleep. Taking Mrs. Hilda's orders very seriously, they had probably hopped in bed immediately after they went upstairs. He was slightly relieved by that, he wouldn't have to endure the interrogating glances and curious questions that would have headed his way had they been awake.

He moved as silently as possible and exited the room without making a noise. He was used to sneaking around after all. Years of experience sneaking out of the orphanage past curfew to take a walk throughout the village were coming in handy now.

He waited impatiently for Mrs. Hilda to come, and a few minutes later he finally saw her silhouette approaching from the stairs. The woman had barely rounded the corner before Eugene practically jumped over her.

"Am I getting kicked out?" He was mildly embarrassed by the note of panic clearly noticeable in his voice, but at the moment he had more important things to worry about, like where exactly was he going to spend the night if he had nowhere to stay and no money of his own.

Mrs. Hilda's eyes widened slightly in bewilderment before they settled over him again. Eugene could've sworn he saw a hint of pity behind those half-moon glasses. If the situation had been different he would've been quite annoyed by that. "No dear, why would you think that?"

Eugene almost let out a relieved sigh. "Well... why else would you make me pack my things?" He asked, still slightly confused as he followed the old headmistress up the stairs. The faint light of the candle in Mrs. Hilda's hand casted large shadows around the corners, making the hairs at the back of Eugene's head stand on end. He instinctively stepped closer to the old woman's larger body. "Either I'm getting kicked out or..." He trailed off, not really sure if he even dared to voice his sudden thoughts.

The way he saw it, there were only two reasons why any kid would have to pack the very few things they had in their possession. Either they were leaving the orphanage by getting kicked out... or by getting adopted.

Tomorrow was Parent's Day. And if he wasn't actually getting kicked out of the orphanage, that could only mean...

No. Could it be? After all those years of hoping and expecting and in the end being let down, could it be possible that he was _finally_ getting adopted? A million questions ran through his head at the same time. Why hadn't they waited until tomorrow to tell him? Why would anyone want to adopt an eleven year old boy? Why was Mrs. Hilda leading him upstairs instead of downstairs?

Despite the fact of having told himself a thousand times not to get his hopes up and to always be prepared for the worst case scenario, all his good judgment flew out the window and was replaced by a rush of excitement at the thought of finally leaving the orphanage for a better place. No more cold slightly rancid excuses of meals far too insubstantial to satisfy anyone's hunger, no more worn-out hand-me-down clothes two sizes smaller than his, no more frayed old blankets too thin to protect him from the harsh cold winters. No more nights spent alone wondering if he would ever be good enough to deserve the love of someone.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice the path Mrs. Hilda was leading him through up the rickety stairs. He almost crashed against the old matron's body once she came to a halt right in front of a familiar trapdoor.

"...What...?"

"Look, Eugene, I'm... really sorry about this-"

"What are we doing here?" He shamelessly interrupted the old woman, his elation instantly dying inside his chest.

Mrs. Hilda seemed to struggle for words for a moment. "Well... Eugene you're already eleven, you're not a little kid anymore and..." She sighed, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes, as if looking at him directly suddenly had become too much for her to bear. "I think it's time. You can't share a room with the other kids anymore."

He felt his throat close up for a second, his eyes widening as he tried to make sense of the situation. "B-But... I-I don't mind sharing a room. I'm sure the others don't mind either, why would I have to move?" He was sure his voice came out squeakier than he would've liked but at this moment he couldn't care less.

"I'm sorry Eugene, you're already too old to share a room with them. It's not about if you mind or don't, it's not appropriate anymore." Mrs. Hilda pulled at the old string of rope tied to the trapdoor's handgrip and a small frail-looking ladder came down from the new opening. Eugene swallowed nervously.

"B-But... You can't make me stay _there_!" He exclaimed. He could already feel a hint of panic settling deep in his belly. "It's cold and dark a-and full of cobwebs and..." And he wasn't about to admit that he was slightly afraid of spiders. And the attic was full of them, lurking in every corner. Just the thought made him shiver in disgust.

"Oh, it's gonna be okay." Mrs. Hilda waved him off, clearly not finding his arguments worthy of consideration. "You'll see, it will be exciting to have a whole room for yourself. You won't have to share it with anyone!"

"Yeah, except all the boxes and broken furniture and all the things no one wants and get thrown in there..." He muttered snidely, crossing his arms in annoyance. Oh yeah, and the spiders. He would also have to share the room with the spiders. He would gladly share a room with a thousand other kids any day.

"We'll make more room for you when we have the time." The old headmistress said in a fake cheery voice clearly meant to calm him down a bit. It was not working at all.

"Something tells me that's not gonna happen any time soon." The thought alone of spending the night in the dark dusty room was enough to set his nerves on edge. He turned to the old matron, his eyes wide and pleading. "Please don't make me stay there. Please!"

"I'm sorry Eugene, but we have no more room. We have nowhere else for you to stay." To her credit, Mrs. Hilda did seem slightly sorry for making him stay in the attic. Although clearly she wasn't sorry enough to change her mind. "But it's okay, you won't have to stay there for long. Once you get adopted you'll have a room especially for you."

His jaw almost hit the floor in that moment. That practically meant he would have to stay in that godforsaken room for as long as he stayed in the orphanage. "I'm never gonna get adopted!"

Mrs. Hilda's eyes widened for a moment. She regarded him carefully as Eugene swallowed the pitiful lump in his throat, blinking back the telltale stinging behind his eyelids. "I'm sorry Eugene."

That was all she said. With one last pitying look sent his way, the old headmistress made her way down the stairs, leaving him alone in the darkness of the hallway with only one choice at hand; climb up the ladder to his new 'room', or spend the night in the corridor. Neither seemed too appealing anyway.

With a feeling of dread he finally climbed up the ladder, his old worn-out satchel containing the very few things he actually owned clutched in one hand. Once his head had crossed the trapdoor's entrance he was engulfed by darkness, his eyes adjusted to the shadows around him, barely making out the faint silhouette of the bed casted aside in the far corner of the room. There was a small window next to the bed, the pale silvery moonlight barely illuminated the room enough for him to make his way around dusty boxes and broken furniture. His nose itched slightly as puffs of dust swirled in the air with every step he took, and he couldn't quite adjust to the musty, stuffy atmosphere that engulfed the entire place.

Eugene let out a strained cough as he flopped lethargically over the thin mattress. In hindsight, he really should've known better than to expect anything else. Of course he wasn't about to get adopted, who in their right mind would choose him over all the other younger kids? He mentally kicked himself for his naivety as another thought invaded his mind. What would the other kids do once they noticed he was no longer sharing a room with them?

He knew he really had no reason to worry, but he couldn't help but think about them. What would Ginger do if she woke up from one of her usual nightmares and went over to Eugene's place, as she usually did, only to find that his bed was empty now and there was no one there to comfort her? Who would Eddy talk to when he couldn't sleep at night and there was no one else willing to stay up with him until he fell asleep? Who would come up with Sarah's goodnight stories or tuck little Timmy in bed every night? No one else would do those things but him.

He sighed heavily, coughing against the lump stuck at the back of his throat, his already obscured vision blurring slightly with tears he still stubbornly refused to let slip down his cheeks. He had not felt this lonely and incredibly unwanted since the day he had arrived at the orphanage, with no one else in the world to care for him but himself. Not since his mother had tragically passed away after a whole week battling between life and death when she got sick with the plague. He had been no older than five when that had happened. It didn't surprise him that his luck hadn't quite changed since that day. Why would he even think anyone would adopt him when not even his own father had wanted to take him in? No, his dear old father was out there, living the life of a king while he let his own son rot away in the attic of an old orphanage.

He should really be used to it by now. He would forever be a reject, a poor little orphan boy with nothing but a silly impossible dream and a knack for getting in trouble. The world had no room for people like him; a worthless bastard, that's what they liked to call them.

Eugene ran his hands over the worn-out cover of his favorite book, the one he had brought with him since the moment he had finished reading it to the younger kids. He trailed the already fading golden letters of the title: _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider._ Opening the book in the very last page, his eyes landed over the illustrations decorating the paper.

He had once had a dream, a silly little dream; he wanted to grow up to be _just_ like his favorite hero, Flynnigan Rider. A swashbuckling rogue, a rich man, adventurous, charming, with a bright future ahead of him and a crowd of people always cheering him wherever he went. He wanted to explore the world, live the most exciting adventures, and maybe he'd leave all the romance with princesses out of the story cause that wasn't really of his interest anyway.

He was a lonely boy with a dream far too big for his realistic expectations. Who was he kidding anyway? He wouldn't live up to be the swashbuckling charming hero of his favorite book. He was doomed to stay alone and forgotten in the corner of a musty old attic in an orphanage no one even noticed in the poorest part of the village. He would forever be poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert.

Heaving a deep shaky breath, he closed the book with a snap, tossing it aside as he curled himself over the mattress. And if that night he finally let a string of tears past his tightly closed eyelids, and a broken sob escaped his throat more than once as he cried himself to sleep, he would never admit it. There was no one there to watch him, no one would even care anyway.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, that night would be the night he finally decided he was tired of being _just_ poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert. He wouldn't shed another tear in many years after that, he wouldn't even stay in the orphanage for much longer. A few years later, he would be leaving his old life behind without ever looking back and adventuring into a life he never thought he would have. A few years later he would be burying the name of Eugene Fitzherbert and everything it entitled in the deepest corner of his soul, only to become a twisted version of what he'd wanted to be. It wouldn't be much longer before the world forgot who the poor little orphan boy was, and instead Flynn Rider took over his persona, becoming the most wanted, and most successful thief in the realm.

But for the time being, he let himself break down for the last time, crying for the life he'd never have, the love he would never receive, and a bunch of dreams that would slip away along with his tears.

* * *

Flynn woke up with a start, chest heaving as he blinked back the grogginess still clouding his thoughts. He tried to adjust his eyes to his surroundings, wondering for a moment just where he had managed to land himself last night. He let out a soft grunt as his vision finally focused, shaking his head to get rid of the last remnants of the memories of his fuzzy dream. It had been quite a long time since hazy memories of his past came to haunt him in his dreams. Needless to say he wasn't exactly fond of them. Flynn Rider had absolutely no time to spare to the memory of softie Eugene Fitzherbert. That was a part of him that would forever be locked away in the darkest corner of his very soul. He had more important things to do than to duel over the past.

It was still dark, but by the telltale shade of indigo flooding the room through the window he could tell it was just a few minutes before dawn. Flynn stretched his stiff limbs across the floor, finally realizing just exactly where he was and what he was doing there. He almost wanted it to be a particularly unpleasant dream. Groaning slightly, he finally stood up, rubbing a crick in the back of his neck and cracking a few bones while he stretched his stiff muscles. He was suddenly acutely aware of how much he hated sleeping on the floor. A mistake he would be sure never to repeat again.

Stifling a tired yawn, Flynn's eyes finally landed over the lump on the mattress nestled comfortably under the covers of the bed in front of him. He didn't know whether to be bitterly amused or annoyed by the irony of his whole situation. Here he was, dreaming about his past and the hopes he'd had when he had been a naïve little boy and coming to the realization that none of the things he had hoped to be had exactly come true now. Sure, he was a rogue indeed, in every sense of the word, but he was also a thief, the most wanted criminal in the kingdom to be exact. He was a charming guy of course, and quite the attractive catch according to more than a few ladies he'd met over the years, but he couldn't exactly be labeled as swashbuckling. He wasn't rich, although he had come quite close to fulfilling that particular goal if it weren't for the girl currently sleeping soundly in the bed before him. And how ironic was it that he had indeed met a princess, but she was anything but a demure lovely maiden and was actually the bane of his existence as of now.

All in all, things had not turned out quite like he'd planned. He didn't own an island of his own, he hadn't built a castle, and he was as close to making his dream come true as he was to getting rid of the stubborn princess accompanying him, which was a whole other problem he had to deal with. He wondered briefly when exactly had his life turned out to be such a bittersweet irony as he carefully made his way towards the young woman sleeping comfortably under the dusty covers of the small bed.

He was surprised to find the image before him quite a bit amusing. Rapunzel's hair was a mess of tangled blonde locks haphazardly curling all over the place. She had one arm tucked comfortably under her head while her other hand hung over the side of the bed, her fingers curling limply around the handle of her frying pan. Half of her face was squished against the pillow, her mouth slightly open as her soft breaths blew at the strands of hair falling messily over her face.

He rolled his eyes, remembering the last time he'd had to wake her up and the outcome of said situation. Holding himself at a safe distance, he leaned over and poked her cheek. "Hey Blondie."

Rapunzel's nose twitched in a way he could only describe as adorable, safe for the fact that he wouldn't admit that he found the gesture cute not even to himself. She groaned softly and curled her legs closer to herself, snuggling comfortably under the thin blankets. Flynn twisted his mouth in annoyance as he attempted to wake her up a second time, now shoving her shoulder in a gesture that was much less gentle. "Blondie, wake up!"

Rapunzel's eyes fluttered open, she only focused on him for a moment before she jumped in surprise, letting out a slightly panicked squeak and scooting as far away from him as the tangled sheets would let her, clutching the frying pan now in both hands. "Did I not tell you to stay away from my bed?"

Flynn rolled his eyes. "Then how do you suppose I'd wake you up? Throwing a pillow at you?" He paused, considering the option a second time as the princess' eyes narrowed. "Actually that doesn't seem like such a bad idea now that I think about it."

"Why would you wake me up in the middle of the night?" Rapunzel rubbed her eyes sleepily, suppressing a yawn as she seemed to relax a bit.

"Sorry to break it to you, Blondie, but it's almost dawn." Flynn answered bluntly as he turned his back to her, padding across the room in search for his doublet and boots, which he had removed the night before. "And much to our inconvenience, we've already overslept. So you better get yourself ready, we should live preferably by sunrise."

He vaguely heard her grumble something under her breath, and then the faint sound of her weird lizard hissing something in return. He ignored both as he adjusted his old boots back on his feet. "Why must we leave so early?"

Flynn turned back to her with a slightly exasperated sigh, fiddling with the few buttons of his shirt he had managed to unbutton the night before. "Because, Princess, the sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get to MistHaven, and I'd rather not delay our journey more than absolutely necessary."

It was only then that he noticed Rapunzel's slightly transfixed gaze. Her eyes widened and he noticed her pale cheeks coloring a bright shade of pink as she stared fixedly at him, or rather his hands hastily buttoning his shirt and slowly covering what little had been left exposed of his chest. He raised a curious eyebrow, his lips slowly curling into a mischievous smirk.

"See something you like, Blondie?" The teasing remark instantly snapped her out of her stupor. She blinked a few times, averting her eyes as a deep blush colored her cheeks.

"Hah, you wish." Rapunzel scoffed indignantly, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried her best to avoid his teasing gaze. "I'm just amazed by how little modesty you seem to have."

Flynn chuckled amusedly, her flustered behavior clearly giving away her uneasiness with the whole situation. "Well, it may have something to do with the fact that, unlike you, I wasn't raised in a castle." He adjusted his vest over his shoulders, not missing the fact that Rapunzel seemed intent on setting her eyes on anything but him. "Besides, it's just a vest and a few loose buttons. It's really not that big of a deal."

"Oh, I beg to differ. This whole situation is inappropriate enough to begin with." She hopped off the bed with a swift move, her hair cascading in a mess of blonde curls down her back and trailing behind her as she walked towards the cloak she had left over the hook in the wall next to the door. "For starters, you should have never spent the night in my room."

Flynn couldn't deny he was enjoying the princess' mild discomfort with their current sleeping arrangements. For the rebellious girl she had initially seemed to be, she was far too concerned with her pristine reputation. "You know what? You're totally right. This whole situation is far too scandalous for a princess to be involved in." He smirked, noticing how Rapunzel's eyes instantly narrowed in suspicion. "But this is just the start of our journey. If you are already this concerned, perhaps it's best to turn and head back to the tower-"

"No!"

One corner of Flynn's mouth slowly lifted into a sly smirk as Rapunzel tried to arrange her slightly panicked expression into a less hysteric and seemingly unconcerned demeanor. "I mean, no. I can handle this. If you want to continue with your intrusive and completely indecent behavior, then go ahead and do it. I couldn't care less."

"Hmm. Sure."

"Ugh! Let's just go already." She grumbled moodily. Rapunzel haughtily opened the door of the room and stepped into the hallway, already moving ahead of him and towards the stairs. Flynn followed behind her with a snigger, swinging the strap of his satchel over his shoulder and closing the door behind him.

As they crossed the deserted hallway in silence, he tried to ignore the reasonable voice in his head telling him to just ditch the crazy princess and run as fast as his legs would carry him away from her. Someone else would find her, she would become someone else's problem. He could always pull other stunts, steal countless other valuable things, forget about the stupid crown, the princess and everything that had come with them after he had gotten himself tangled in this mess. He really should just leave Corona and everything behind, he had enough problems with his life as it was, he had no need to add another even greater mistake into the pile of the many regrets he had in his hardly satisfactory life. And yet, there was something inexplicable tying him to the stubborn girl walking before him.

Maybe it was the fact that stealing that crown had become his recent obsession since the moment the plan had come up into his mind. Selling that single piece of invaluable worth would grant him a world of possibilities that had never been an option for him. With the money he would receive after selling the crown, he could finally fulfill the fruitless dream that had fueled him on during all those years. An island of his own, maybe a castle for himself, piles of money and no more worries for the rest of his life; that was the life he'd always wanted. But the only way to get that was by helping Rapunzel fulfill her rebellious whim, and he had absolutely no desire to get further involved with the stubborn princess' problems.

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of Rapunzel's pet lizard hissing. His gaze traveled to Rapunzel's shoulder, where the frog pointed and accusatory tail at him, eyes narrowed and a suspicious look on his reptilian features. Flynn tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that the frog knew exactly what had been going on in his head a few seconds earlier.

It wasn't long before they had traveled down the stairs, and before Rapunzel could step into the dining hall, Flynn hastily pulled the hood of her cloak over her head while she made an effort to collect her hair once more into her arms and hide it perfectly beneath her cloak. Once they were sure her identity was perfectly concealed, they made their way into the dining hall, which was considerably empty considering it was barely dawn.

Flynn had every intention to make a beeline towards the bar, to the same spots Rapunzel and him had occupied the night before, when an all too familiar voice interrupted him. "My my, why, is it not Flynn Rider?"

Flynn stopped dead in his tracks, grimacing slightly as he recognized just who the owner of the particularly melodic voice was. He turned around, ignoring the inquisitive glance Rapunzel threw his way under the cover of her cloak.

"Scarlet. Fancy seeing you here." He smiled, although his voice lacked any kind of enthusiasm. He'd have to admit he was quite hoping the barmaids wouldn't be working yet, at least not this early in the morning. He wasn't exactly pleased to find out he had been wrong.

The young woman's blood-red lips parted into a wide smile, her perfectly white teeth seemed to be shining in the dim light of the tavern. "It's been a while since you granted us with your presence, handsome." She winked, her hands resting over her perfectly defined hips. "What have you been up to lately? You've left me quite lonely these past few months."

Flynn tried to ignore the fake pout Scarlet sent his way, and instead made his way through the haphazardly accommodated rows of tables, Rapunzel silently following behind him. "Oh, you know... life's been busy."

He'd hoped his curt answer would discourage the young barmaid, but instead she followed him across the dining hall, clearly intent on having some answers. "You could've at least dropped by and pay me a visit. I've been waiting for you and you never come."

He could practically feel Rapunzel's eyes digging a hole in his head, and he didn't quite like the fact that Scarlet had more than likely piqued the princess' interest. "You know I'm a busy man, Scarlet." He shrugged dismissively, more than a bit exasperated when he was intercepted by the young barmaid now standing on his way, arms crossed over her chest in an indignant gesture. He didn't fail to notice her new posture only served to enhance the view of her already prominent cleavage. Flynn fought the urge to roll his eyes, he didn't have time to deal with this now.

"Well then I sure hope you have some time to spare right now. It's been a while since you've told me any of your stories." Scarlet's lips lifted into what could only be described as a suggestive smile, her blue eyes diverted towards Rapunzel for a second, and seemingly disinterested by his new companion, they soon settled over him once more. "How about you tell me more about the adventures you've had lately?"

She trailed her index finger down his arm, clearly oblivious to Flynn's apathetic demeanor. He noticed Rapunzel beside him inched closer to him, whether if it was out of interest or just to help him make the other woman take a hint, he wasn't quite sure. Either way, they were luckily interrupted by Gustav's booming voice echoing throughout the dining hall.

"I ain't paying ye to be Rider's only audience girl!" The bartender hollered from his spot behind the bar in the corner of the room, making Scarlet roll her eyes in annoyance. "Get back to work!"

"No need to shout Gustav!" She complained moodily, sighing as she picked up the rag she had previously been using to clean the tables. "Well, hope to see you soon again, handsome. Maybe then you can tell me all about your latest adventures."

With one last flirty wink sent in his direction, the young barmaid went back to work, crossing the dining hall with swift strides while moving her hips enticingly as she walked and finally disappeared behind the doors leading to the kitchen at the back of the tavern. There was a moment of awkward silence that Flynn gladly took to continue making his way through the rows of tables scattered in no apparent order all around the tavern while Rapunzel trailed beside him. However, much to his annoyance, it wasn't long before she broke the silence.

"So... who was that?"

"I don't see why that's any of your business."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Flynn sputtered in surprise, not quite sure how to respond to that kind of suggestion. "What on earth would make you think that?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "Don't know. It seemed to me like she could be."

"I don't have a girlfriend." Flynn scoffed, completely appalled by the suggestion. "I'm not exactly boyfriend material."

Rapunzel seemed to consider his response for a few seconds. "Why not?"

"Dunno." Flynn shrugged dismissively, not quite liking the direction this conversation was taking. "I never really liked the idea of being attached to anyone. Feels more like a burden to me."

He could clearly imagine Rapunzel frowning at his reply, even though he couldn't exactly see her covered under the shadow of her hood. "If she's not your girlfriend, then who was she?"

Flynn sighed, running his hand across his face in a thoroughly tired gesture. "Let's just say she's... a lady friend."

Rapunzel snorted. " _Lady friend_? What exactly does the term ' _friend_ ' cover for you?"

"Why the sudden interest?" Flynn raised a questioning eyebrow, the corner of his lips lifting in a characteristic teasing smirk. Rapunzel rolled her eyes.

"No reason." She sat as gracefully as her oversized dress would let her on the stool before the bar. "Just want to make sure I can avoid the unfortunate situation of you ever calling me that. I mean, clearly a ' _friend_ ' means something much different to you than it does to me."

"Oh, believe me Blondie, we are anything but friends." Flynn flopped tiredly on the stool next to her. "Let's just say we're... partners in crime. We are merely keeping the ends of our deals and nothing more. No strings attached." He liked the idea of defining his weird relationship with the princess as merely a means to an end. Whatever contact he had with her would soon be over and he would continue with his life as it was and forget he ever made the mistake of kidnapping a princess and then letting her blackmail him. He had absolutely no desire to label their treatment with each other as anything else.

Rapunzel didn't seem exactly satisfied with said label though. "Partners in crime? Excuse me but I am not helping you with whatever crimes you like to commit, Flynn." She huffed indignantly.

"Oh puh-lease! Don't flatter yourself, Blondie. You are a sly, deceitful little thing and you know it."

He could imagine the appalled look she must have had under the cover of her hood if the indignant exclamation he received was any indication. "Oh now _I'm_ the deceitful one? How dare you accuse me of such a thing!"

Flynn pretended to consider her reply for a moment, resting his hand over his chin in a fake thoughtful gesture. "Hmm, let's see. You strike a deal with a thief, you're currently traveling with a criminal, you tricked said criminal into helping you for your own rebellious, selfish reasons, and you're deceiving the whole kingdom into thinking you were kidnapped."

Rapunzel sputtered for a moment, apparently too peeved to form a coherent answer to his accusations. "I _was_ kidnapped! I'm not deceiving anyone, you very much kidnapped me! If anything I'm merely making you pay for taking me away from my home against my will."

"Call it what you will." Flynn shrugged dismissively, enjoying the way he'd managed to rile up the princess. He could almost bet she was now flushing red, her cheeks puffing in anger. He'd seen that very same look more than once over the last few days. "I like to call it blackmail."

"I-I didn't-" Rapunzel was suddenly interrupted by the large bartender's voice making his presence known to the arguing pair.

"I thought ye'd be gone by now." Grumbled Gustav, clearly not liking the idea of housing one Flynn Rider in his tavern for longer than absolutely necessary. Flynn's smirk widened.

"And I was on my way, believe me. Just thought we might as well stop for a quick breakfast." His eyes suddenly took on a sly glint as he regarded the bigger man, all previous humor leaving his features. "Also, I might need a little more information before I take my leave."

Gustav's large eyebrows furrowed displeasingly. "What makes ye think I'll give ye any kind of information fer free."

"I figured the price I paid for a single room for the night was more than enough to cover any other expenses. Including the information I need." Flynn raised his eyebrows to emphasize his suggestion. Gustav, however, was having none of it.

"Well ye were wrong. I ain't giving ye nothing fer free." The bartender snapped, his gruff voice sounding more like a growl. This didn't bother Flynn in the slightest. He was used to having his way, he could easily convince anyone to give him whatever he wanted if he played with their minds in just the right way. The older man wouldn't even know what hit him.

"Suit yourself. But I have a little piece of advice for you; I didn't gain the reputation of the best thief in the kingdom for nothing." He could already see the doubt and skepticism clouding the larger man's thoughts as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "One of these days I might decide the room you gave me last night was way too overpriced. Then I'll want my money back." Flynn let the bartender consider his words as he examined his nails in a seemingly disinterested gesture. "And then you may or may not wake up to find out the vault you keep hidden in the back of the broom closet has been completely emptied."

Gustav's eyes widened in surprise, probably wondering how the hell Flynn had managed to find out just where exactly the bartender kept his savings hidden. But Flynn was no fool; years of experience had taught him how to deduce this kind of things. That was partially how he managed to get his hands on whatever valuable object that captured his attention. He knew he had Gustav cornered. It was only a matter of time before he caved in.

"Come now, Gustav. You know I can leave you penniless without you even noticing my presence." Flynn smirked smugly, instantly noticing the slight worry behind the bartender's brown eyes. "Why don't we both make things easier?"

"What do ye want to know?" The burly man grumbled moodily. Flynn's lips lifted into a triumphant grin.

"I want to know with detail whatever information you have about the guard's patrolling routes."

"I already told ye that last night!" Gustav snapped, his patience clearly wearing thin.

"We both know you didn't tell me everything." He waited patiently for Gustav to swallow his pride. It wasn't long before the bartender was speaking again.

"They're headed to MistHaven. Probably'll get there by sunset. A large search party was sent there with the orders of inspecting every ship, vessel and boat that either enters or leaves Corona, from what I've heard. It's not exactly the best time to travel abroad." Gustav explained while busying himself cleaning a stained-looking glass with an even dirtier rag. "Many 'ave been complaining. At this rate it'll be easier fer the guards to intercept any smuggling arrangements and illegal stowaways then finding the Princess in any of those ships."

Flynn could feel Rapunzel tensing up beside him. He tried to quell his own sense of panic as he considered the new information. How on earth would they manage to leave Corona unnoticed now?

"Do you know if Vlad is still on the business? I need to seek passage outside Corona now, I can't spare any more time in this godforsaken kingdom." Gustav raised a curious eyebrow, his eyes flitting towards Rapunzel for a moment before they settled back on him.

"Why the sudden urge, Rider?"

"I'm the most wanted criminal in the kingdom, what do you suppose is my urge?" Flynn snapped back, not having the patience to discuss his personal reasons with the bartender. His curt reply didn't deter Gustav, who's eyes regarded him suspiciously.

"The guards ain't 'ave time fer wanted thieves at the moment. They're much more concerned with the whereabouts of the Princess." Flynn didn't miss the way the bartender's dark eyes drifted back to Rapunzel, who was doing her best to remain as imperceptible as possible.

"Which is precisely why I need to seize the moment and get the hell out of Corona before they _do_ have time for wanted thieves." Flynn grumbled through gritted teeth, clearly stating that he was done discussing this with the bartender. He didn't exactly like the suspicious glances Gustav was shooting them.

"In that case, I know of a man who can help ye. Fer a considerable price, he can secure ye a letter of transit to grant ye passage outside Corona."

"Where can I find him?"

"He 'as a place near the docks, the man works with all the documents needed in transportation of merchandise, exported and imported goods and the like."

Flynn smirked, now he had exactly what he needed. All they needed now was to avoid the guards up until then and make sure no one recognized Rapunzel on the way. He just hoped that wouldn't prove to be as difficult as he imagined.

* * *

Rapunzel sighed as she finally took a deep breath of fresh air. She was beginning to feel a bit enclosed in the stuffy atmosphere the tavern provided. After a quick meal that could hardly be considered breakfast in her opinion, consisting of a small piece of stale bread, cheese and an apple, they finally made their way out of the tavern. She noticed the sky above was tainted a combination of red, orange and pink hues that were slowly replacing the last remnants of purple left from the previous night. The air was crisp and slightly chilly, the smell of fresh pine and the characteristic scent of fresh soil invaded her nostrils, intoxicating her senses and enticing her spirit. Never in her life had she had the opportunity to experience this; the feeling of _finally_ being free. A smile graced her lips as Pascal squeaked from his usual spot on her shoulder, apparently experiencing the same feeling of freedom.

"I know Pascal. It's exciting, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, very much exciting. We don't have time to marvel at nature, let's go." Flynn interrupted her pleasant thoughts, taking a hold of her arm as he guided her to the back of the old tavern. She scowled, shaking her arm off his grip albeit still following him to wherever he was taking her. It wasn't long before a small stable came to view, if it could even be called one considering it only consisted of a dilapidated roof made out of molding wood to protect the horses from the rain and wind and a set of weak-looking stakes that served to separate each stall. A feeling of uneasiness settled inside her as she ran over the options of why they would possibly go to the stables. It wasn't exactly hard to come to a conclusion.

"Oh, no, no, no." She came to a halt as she watched Flynn make a beeline for a particularly big horse resting pleasantly in one of the stalls. "We are _not_ stealing a horse!"

"You're right, Blondie. We are merely burrowing it." He answered dismissively while working on untying the rope that secured the horse to a peg in the corner of the stall.

Rapunzel scoffed "Without permission? I think that pretty much still counts as stealing."

"Whatever. If we want to get to MistHaven before that party of guards headed there, we'll have to allow ourselves the luxury of taking this horse." Flynn patted the stallion's strong neck in an appreciative gesture, taking the reins in his hand and carefully leading the horse out of the stall.

"Gustav is going to be furious when he finds out." Rapunzel argued. She didn't exactly like the idea of adding a list of crimes to her already guilty conscience. It was already bad enough to be causing the entire kingdom to worry about her unnecessarily, she didn't want to add the guilt of leaving someone horseless for her own selfish needs.

Flynn didn't seem even slightly worried about the idea, though. "To the hell with Gustav, it's not even his horse anyway."

"It still belongs to someone else. This is not right."

"We don't have much of an option, do we?" Flynn heaved an exasperated sigh, clearly not having the patience in him to argue with her. "We are wasting time, so if you want to get to MistHaven before dusk, either you hop on the horse or find yourself another guide to bribe."

Rapunzel bit her bottom lip nervously, considering her options and coming up with only one apparent solution. She exchanged a glance with Pascal, who was intent on shooting daggers at Flynn whenever he could. Sighing regretfully, she finally conceded, stepping closer to the awaiting horse.

Flynn offered her a helping hand, which she promptly swatted away with the excuse of knowing perfectly well how to mount a horse, thank you very much. She struggled for a moment with the oversized skirt of the dress she was currently wearing, which was doing nothing to help her climb onto the back of the horse as gracefully as she would've liked. She was sure she was quite likely making a fool of herself as she swayed and struggled to keep her balance once she hoisted herself up, and she would've preferably liked to avoid the complicated situation of arranging her skirt over her legs in a way that wouldn't end up making her fall off the horse once they started moving.

She could almost swear she heard Flynn softly clearing his throat in an attempt to hide his barely contained laughter. Once she was finally settled over the back of the horse, Flynn wasted no time in climbing up himself. With one swift movement much more graceful and agile than what she could've ever managed -much to her embarrassment- he hopped onto the horse and settled himself in front of her, seizing the reins in his hands and preparing to leave.

"Now hold on tight, Princess. It's gonna be a long journey." He called over his shoulder, waiting for her to follow his instructions. She hesitated for a moment, not quite liking the idea of coming in close proximity to his body. She wasn't about to admit that any physical contact with none other than Flynn Rider made a slight shiver run down her spine that wasn't exactly an unpleasant sensation. She much preferred to keep her distance and avoid any awkward situations. However, seeing as there wasn't much of an option, she hesitantly put her arms around his torso, making a point of keeping a loose grip and a safe distance that allowed her front not to even remotely touch his back.

Her efforts pretty much went out the window as soon as Flynn urged the horse forward, digging the heels of his boots into the animal's sides and snapping the reins with an encouraging sound, which made the stallion immediately break into a full gallop. Rapunzel let out a startled cry. The sheer force of the horse's hurried pace had her clinging tightly to Flynn's body in an effort to keep herself from falling off the steed. After the initial surprise wore off, she found herself having to adjust to the awkwardness of the whole situation. She decided to give up on her efforts of keeping a somewhat decent and respectable behavior for a princess. After last night's unfortunate events, what else could be possibly worse for her pristine reputation? A princess wasn't even supposed to have any contact with a criminal like Flynn, and yet here she was, holding tightly onto his body to the point that her front was embarrassingly pressed flushed against his back and she was pretty sure her arms where squeezing too tightly around his waist. She tried not to think about her etiquette tutor, if the woman could only see her right now she would probably have a stroke out of scandalization.

So much for not caring about how she was supposed to act...

After a while of swiftly traveling across the woods at full speed over the back of a stolen horse, Rapunzel found herself slowly relaxing. She loosened her grip and leant as far away from Flynn's body as the movement of the horse would allow her, which wasn't much to begin with but at least now she wasn't almost pressing her cheek against the back of his neck. She didn't know how long they kept traveling in silence, with no sound other than the stallion's hooves hitting the ground to make them company. It could've been minutes or maybe even hours, but to her it seemed like an eternity.

There weren't really many interesting things to do when she couldn't even enjoy the view of the vegetation they passed as they traveled through the woods. Everything was a blur, which was starting to make her feel a bit dizzy. Pascal wasn't exactly much help at the moment either. The little reptile clung to her hair in an almost fierce embrace in his effort to keep himself from flying off with the force of the wind. Needless to say the poor thing was probably not in the best mood to talk with her.

"So... How long do you think it will take us to get there?" Rapunzel asked amicably for the sake of striking up a conversation with her reluctant guide.

"Well, at this rate it won't take us that long, actually. Maybe two or three hours at most." She was mildly surprised by the honest-to-God answer she managed to elicit from Flynn; no snarky remarks or sarcastic comments. Encouraged by his light tone, she decided to continue making small talk. Perhaps that would help pass the time.

"So how is it?"

"How is what?" Flynn's voice carried a hint of confusion. She wished she could actually see his face in order to gauge his reaction. Either way, she had discovered over the last few days she had spent with him, he wasn't exactly an easy guy to read.

"MistHaven, how does it look like? Is it nice?" Rapunzel could barely hide the excitement in her voice. She was reluctant to admit that she was actually dying out of curiosity. She supposed she had an excuse for her behavior; this was after all, the first time she was traveling outside the capital.

"Well, it is...- wait, wait, you mean to tell me you've never been to MistHaven?" Judging by the tone of his voice, Flynn couldn't quite seem to believe her. She blinked a few times in surprise.

"Um... Nope?"

"Never?!" Flynn loosened his grip on the reins in surprise. Rapunzel noticed the speed of the horse's gallop slowing as they traveled. "It's Corona's most important port, and you're telling me you've _never_ even seen it?"

"W-well... I... um..." She had forgotten for a moment that Flynn actually didn't know this was the first time she was traveling outside Corona's capital. Ever.

"At least you've actually been to other villages in Corona, right?" He addressed her over his shoulder, his face turning in an effort to look at her expression. Rapunzel bit her lip, a pathetic little sound the only thing that managed to slip past her mouth. Apparently, that was enough response for Flynn. "You _haven't_? How is that even possible?!"

Rapunzel's eyebrow furrowed slightly. "I don't think that's any of your business." She snapped a bit defensively. It wasn't really her fault her parents were too overprotective to let her leave the protection of the palace. And she certainly had no desire to explain her parents' overprotective issues to Flynn, of all people.

"It's not." Flynn answered with a dismissive shrug, picking on her slightly miffed tone. "I just think it's strange for a princess not to have travelled throughout her own kingdom even once."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I _mean_ , you're going to be Queen of Corona sooner or later, right?" Flynn continued. She wasn't exactly sure she liked where he was going with this conversation. "How can you rule an entire kingdom when you barely even know it?"

"I do know my kingdom!" Rapunzel didn't know whether to be offended or embarrassed by his suggestion, either way she didn't like his judging tone one bit. Or the fact that he had managed to strike a nerve with that simple comment.

"Right." Flynn snorted derisively, making her eyebrows furrow into an affronted scowl as she unconsciously curled her fingers into fists. "You mean you've probably studied every corner from the safety of a map, I suppose."

She was stunned into silence by his surprising - and slightly disturbing- accuracy. His ability to read her so easily made her slightly uneasy to say the least. "I don't see why there's anything wrong with that." She mumbled moodily.

"Forgive me if I give you my opinion, Blondie, but you can't really claim to know your own kingdom if you've only ever seen the places it spans in a sheet of parchment." Although his tone wasn't exactly hard-edged, there was a hint in his voice that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, it wasn't as if it was reproachful, but it was something close. And for some reason, that made her feel a bit guilty. "It's not the same studying the territory the kingdom expands than to actually see it with your own eyes."

"Well, yeah, of course I know that. I just don't see what's so bad about it." It's not like she was refusing to explore and get to know her own kingdom, quite the contrary she was doing all this for the very same reason. She was tired of being cooped up in a castle being taught how to be a proper lady, perfectly protected and isolated from the world beyond the walls of the palace. But Flynn would never get that and she had no desire to explain it.

"Well, how are you supposed to get to know your subjects, or the villages you are supposed to rule over? How are you going know they are receiving what they need, or if they are in good enough conditions if you never visit them?" Flynn argued. She was surprised by the insight in his words and the genuine concern he seemed to transmit. Up until that moment, she was convinced he was a selfish criminal who had no care in the world other than his own wellbeing. She never would've thought he would be interested in this kind of social issues. And the most surprising part was that he was totally right. How _was_ she supposed to rule a kingdom she barely even knew?

"Well, that's why we have earls, lords and dukes for. They are put in charge of small territories, it's their responsibility to look for the wellbeing of the villages they rule over and see that the people get what they need." Rapunzel explained, desperately holding onto the belief that she wasn't doing everything wrong with her position as princess of Corona. At least she knew enough about politics to know that, right?

Flynn, however, didn't seem to agree with her. "Oh please, if they barely even have the decency to take care of their own family, you think they'd care about the wellbeing of the peasants they see so unworthy of their respect?" He scoffed snidely, his voice taking on a much darker and cynical note. "Don't kid yourself, Blondie. Noble men are nothing but selfish, entitled pricks. They care for no one but themselves and their own fortune, they see us as nothing but scum so beneath their worth. They're not worried about improving the lives of the people that depend on them, they're much too busy drowning in their own riches."

She was left speechless for a second as she detected the hint of undeniable loathing in Flynn's voice, something she hadn't heard in the short time of knowing him. "Royals are quite the hypocrites, if you ask me."

"Hey!"

"What? It's the truth." He shrugged nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just offended her by extension. She pursed her lips in frustration.

"Why the sudden hatred towards royalty?" She asked, genuinely curious to know why his voice had suddenly changed so drastically in demeanor. She couldn't see his face, but she was quite sure that the usually carefree or occasionally annoyed glint in his eyes had darkened considerably over the course of their conversation.

"It's not sudden, and I'm merely speaking the truth." He answered curtly. But Rapunzel was no fool, she could see there was clearly something more that he wasn't telling her. No one spoke with such conviction and that note of -dare she say it- loathing if they didn't have a very good reason. There was something behind his snide words that she was quite curious to find out.

"I think there's more to it than just that, Flynn." She pressed, carefully hinting that she was interested in knowing why exactly had this subject affected him in such a way. Of course, she should've known better than to expect an answer from him.

"And I think there's more about the fact that you clearly haven't left your precious palace in quite a long time, and there must be a damn good reason behind it." He retorted, making her eyes widen and her body stiffen at his words. Oh god, she should've known better than to press for details that he clearly didn't want to discuss. How exactly did this man have the cleverness to corner her with such accurate assumptions of her life in order to avoid discussing matters of his own? Either way she had no desire to discuss the reasons behind the fact that she had never traveled further from Corona's village ever in her life. Much less with Flynn. Which was probably exactly what he had assumed since the beginning.

"I think we can both agree to leave this particular subject alone, don't you think Blondie?" If she was not mistaken, she could swear she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. She huffed grumpily in response.

"Ugh, and here I thought we could have a pleasant conversation." Rapunzel muttered under her breath, to which Flynn chuckled amusedly. She could feel his stomach clenching with his laughter, and she wasn't even going to admit she was slightly impressed by the feeling of the taut, perfectly defined muscles of his abs beneath her hands, clearly it was not like she was copping a feel and she shouldn't even be thinking about it. Plus she was annoyed with him, like usual. Ugh, why was this man so frustrating?

"Fine, fine. How about we start over?"

"With our conversation or with the whole instance of meeting each other?"

"I think both could've gone quite better."

Rapunzel could feel the corners of her mouth lifting into a reluctant smile. "You think? You could've tried avoiding the whole kidnapping incident for starters. That would've made things much easier."

"Very well then; Hi, the name's Flynn Rider. How you doing?" His voice turned back to that teasing, slightly flirty quality. Even though she couldn't see his face, she could clearly imagine the cheeky grin and that mischievous sparkle in his eyes that he surely must be wearing. She could barely hold back an amused giggle.

"Rapunzel." She patted his arm as an introduction, seeing as she could hardly shake his hand in a friendly gesture.

"Gesundheit." Not one to ever miss the chance to tease her, Flynn decided now was the perfect time to ruin their start-over meeting.

"Flynn!" Her friendly pat turned into a soft slap, which only seemed to amuse him even more. He let out a carefree laugh, one she hadn't heard in the entirety of her brief time knowing him. Somewhere deep in the corners of her brain, she thought she quite liked the sound of his laughter when it was as light and carefree as this.

Pascal squeaked suspiciously from his spot on her shoulder, he didn't seem to understand the sudden change in their behavior. That, and he wasn't exactly fond of Flynn to say the list. Surprisingly enough, for the first time since the unfortunate incident of her kidnapping, there wasn't an underlying feeling of uneasiness or worry lurking beneath her veins.

Perhaps she could really make this situation work in her favor.

* * *

"There it is; MistHaven."

"Finally!" After hours of traveling at breakneck speed over the back of a horse that to her seemed like an eternity, they'd finally made it to their destination. Rapunzel was quite glad to say the least, after the first hour and a half of traveling, she could swear she could no longer feel her butt. And finally here they were. The busy port village could be perfectly seen from their spot over that cliff. It was considerably larger than what she'd had imagined, with stone buildings that looked less picturesque than the ones in Corona's capital, people busily hustling through the streets going over their business, and of course, the harbor at the edge of town, which appeared to be the busiest part of the entire village. The vastness of the sea ahead could be appreciated from their spot. Large vessels and ships were carefully docked at port while others were clearly preparing to leave. The large waves of the ocean splashed majestically against the cliffy shore, and the wind blew strongly against her face, making her skin tingle with the feeling of the marine breeze against her cheeks.

With each passing hour she was even closer to her freedom.

"It's beautiful." She whispered with a certain hint of awe in her voice.

"Huh, it's not that great up close." Flynn shrugged, directing the horse towards a path to the left side that led them down the cliff. "Now comes the difficult part; avoiding the guards and getting those letters of transit to get the hell out of Corona, preferably by sunset."

They rode in silence as they approached the village below. Once they were close enough, Flynn decided that it would be better to go by feet from then on, according to him that would attract less attention to them and would allow them to blend more easily in the busy crowd.

Flynn dismounted with an agile move, not having the slightest difficulty in hopping off the large horse. Rapunzel, however, was quite dreading the idea of her skirt tangling between her legs. If it had been hard enough to mount the horse, she couldn't even imagine the struggle she'd go through to dismount it. She hesitated, exchanging a worried glance with Pascal, who was probably thinking along the same lines.

Flynn seemed to notice her slight distress and once again offered her a helping hand, a gesture she decided not to dismiss this time. She would probably end up falling face first into the muddy ground below if she dismounted by herself. With a certain difficulty, she managed to untangle one of her legs from between the folds of her skirt, she passed it over the back of the horse, ready to dismount as gracefully as she could manage while accepting Flynn's outstretched hand gratefully. Everything was going alright until the small heel of her slipper caught in one of the horse's stirrups, making her stumble on her way down with an undignified squeak. Flynn managed to catch her just in time, his hands going to the sides of her waist, his strong grip preventing her from falling rather ungracefully off the horse. Rapunzel barely had time to process the whole situation. She was just about to request Flynn to take his hands off her waist as he carefully lowered her to the ground when the godawful sound of fabric tearing interrupted her train of thought.

"Oh no." Her eyes widened as a particularly unpleasant feeling settled on her stomach. As soon as her feet hit the ground she whirled around rather frantically, lifting the back of her cloak with quick trembling hands. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight awaiting her.

"Oh God, no! My dress!" Her trembling fingers trailed over the large tear in the back of her skirt, which unfortunately enough extended up her legs until it almost reached the middle of her thighs. She made a mental note to thank her lucky stars for the fact that it wasn't as if she was completely exposed, thankfully her underskirt hadn't suffered any damage, which was enough to leave her legs decently covered and sheltered from prying eyes. Either way, she wasn't exactly fond of the idea of having her petticoat exposed for the entire world to see. "It's ruined! I can't walk around the village like this!"

"What happened?" Flynn's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned over to inspect the damage. Rapunzel let out a startled cry as she jumped out of the way before Flynn could even catch a glimpse of the situation currently bothering her.

"Don't look!" She squeaked out, promptly covering the offending tear in her skirt with the back of her oversized cloak. Flynn raised his hands in a surrender gesture, instantly leaning away from her.

"Geez! What's wrong?"

"There's a huge tear at the back of my skirt." Rapunzel moaned pitifully, her hands going up to cover her face in embarrassment. "I can't possibly wear this anymore! What am I going to do?"

She was way too embarrassed to chance a glance at Flynn, who stayed silent for a moment too long in her opinion. "Can't you cover it with your cloak or something?"

"Well... Yes but that doesn't erase the fact that the huge tear is there!" She mumbled through her hands. She didn't exactly like the idea of walking around in a torn up dress slightly covered by a cloak that may or may not leave her petticoat exposed. The sole idea made her stomach twist in utter humiliation.

She heard the sound of Flynn sighing, whether it was out of exasperation or pity she couldn't quite tell. It was only a moment before he spoke again. "I... might know of a place we can go to get you something else for you to wear." He muttered. From the sound of it, he didn't seem exactly thrilled about the idea of going to whatever was this place he knew of, but she was grateful nonetheless. Honestly, anything was better than wearing a torn up dress that left her underskirt exposed. At this point she was willing to wear anything else.

They wasted no more time in making their way towards the village. They walked in a rather awkward silence as they ventured into the busy streets of MistHaven. Rapunzel was far too worried about the incident with her dress and the huge mess in her skirt to be able to appreciate the sights surrounding her. Pascal noticed her distress and tried to console her with a reassuring squeak, gently rubbing his face against her cheek in an encouraging gesture. She managed a small smile as she gently scratched the little reptile's head. She followed silently behind Flynn while they walked through the bustling streets of the village. He seemed to know exactly where he was going as he guided their stolen horse by the reins and made himself room through the bunch of people crowding the streets. She was thankful everyone seemed too busy running their own errands and minding their own business to even notice them.

After a few minutes later they finally stopped before an old, two-story building. The green paint of the door was chipped and faded with age and there was a battered wooden sign hanging from the small overhang of the roof above the entrance that clearly indicated the small place was a dressmaker's shop. It was then when she finally noticed the small, slightly opaque shop windows displaying a pair of finished simple gowns. Flynn raised his hand, ready to enter the shop before he hesitated for a second, letting out a sigh as his fingers curled into a fist, clenching and unclenching a few times before he finally pushed the door open.

The telltale tinkle of a bell signaled their entrance as they passed through the threshold. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light inside the small shop, she noticed it seemed to be a nice, albeit small place. There were various rows of haphazardly accommodated racks where countless varieties of dresses and gowns were messily hung. Others were displayed individually, carefully shown off in mannequins, and there was a counter in the far corner of the shop, where ribbons and pieces of cloth in different colors were scattered over the surface in messy piles.

She was a bit startled by the sudden sound of a voice coming from the right side of the room. "Who's there?"

A tall, thin woman emerged from behind a curtain probably leading to a storage room. She took a quick look at them, her eyes lingering on Flynn for a moment before recognition lightened her features. "Oh boy, look at you! It's been years!"

Flynn nodded politely in greeting, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. "Mrs. Maldine, it's good to see you again."

The woman approached them with cautious steps, carefully making her way through the piles of clothing scattered all over the place. Upon closer inspection, Rapunzel noticed the sporadic grey hairs adorning her brown locks tied up in a bun were the only thing betraying the woman's age, seeing as her fine features had barely a trace of a wrinkle.

"Oh dear heavens, you've grown so much since the last time I saw you!" She seemed to be having a hard time believing he was really standing in her shop. Rapunzel wondered briefly what kind of relationship they maintained, the middle-aged woman had a far off look in her eyes, as if she was reminiscing on past times long since gone. "How long has it been? Ten years?"

"I believe eight since the last time I came."

"You were barely a teenager." She whispered with a look akin to motherly affection. "And now look at you, all grown up!"

"And you look as lovely as always, ma'am." Flynn grinned back with that characteristic cheeky glint in his eyes. The woman laughed heartily.

"Always the charmer, I see." She patted his cheek affectionately, her eyes now trailing towards Rapunzel, who had remained silent through the whole exchange. "And who's your companion?"

Rapunzel tried a friendly smile before she remembered the woman couldn't see her face anyway from within the protection that her hood provided.

Meanwhile, Flynn's eloquence seemed to have suddenly left him. For the first time since she met him, he seemed to be struggling for words.

"She's... um... she's a... we're kind of-"

"Eleanor." She cut him off with the first thing that came into her mind before he could make a bigger fool of himself coming to terms with labeling the nature of their weird relationship. "My-my name is Eleanor." She extended her hand towards the older woman in a friendly greeting, making a point of ignoring Flynn's sideway glance. She wasn't exactly lying per se, royals tended to have at least three more names to accompany their first. It was like a tradition to give the new members of a long respectable royal House the names of various admirable ancestors. Eleanor was indeed her second name, and had been the name of her grandmother before her. However, no one aside from her family, tutors and other members of nobility even knew she had a name other than Rapunzel. The middle-aged dressmaker wouldn't suspect a thing this way.

The older woman smiled softly as she took her hand, gently squeezing in a greeting gesture. "What brings you here to MistHaven?" She asked, her eyes now giving Flynn a significant look. "Not that I'm not glad to see you again, my dear, but now is not exactly the best time for you to be here."

"We have some matters to attend to." Flynn waved her off, not giving much importance to the reason why they were visiting the port village.

"Well, what can I do for you?" The dressmaker asked, all business now that it was apparent that Flynn wasn't exactly here to make small talk. Her eyes trailed towards the entrance door, a look of slight uneasiness settling in her previously pleasant features. "I'm afraid Greta is not here at the moment, but if you wish I could send someone for her..."

"No, that won't be necessary Mrs. Maldine." Rapunzel didn't miss the way Flynn's face suddenly lost all trace of easygoing humor. A shadow she couldn't quite place clouded his eyes at the mention of that other girl's name, his eyebrows lowering and the corners of his lips turning down almost imperceptibly. She was quite curious why he'd suddenly acquired such a downcast demeanor. "Actually, we're here to ask for a favor."

"We'd like to know if you have anything for... Eleanor here to wear." Flynn's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the foreign sound of her second name. "We had a mishap on the way here and her dress... well..."

"It got torn at the back, I can't wear it anymore." Rapunzel explained, while the other woman approached her.

"Oh, but of course I must have something." She took a measuring tape from the top of a shelf near the counter and turned back to Rapunzel with a smile. "Just let me take some measures and I'll set to work. If you'd be so kind as to remove your cloak, dear-"

"No!" Both Flynn and Rapunzel cried out in unison, startling the poor woman just as she was about to lift Rapunzel's cloak. "I'm sorry, she's a bit shy. Perhaps you could find some dresses that would approach her size?"

Mrs. Maldine raised a suspicious eyebrow, her eyes shifting between Flynn and Rapunzel with a hint of skepticism. "Okay... I might have something in the back that could work. I'll be right back."

With one last lingering glance, she turned around and disappeared behind the curtain in the corner of the room, leaving both Rapunzel and Flynn alone in the front of the shop.

Both let out a sigh of relieve as soon as the older woman was out of earshot. "Phew! That a close one. And... Eleanor? Where would that come from?" Flynn raised a questioning eyebrow as he turned to look at her.

"It's my second name." Rapunzel shrugged noncommittally. "And what is it with you? Do you know everybody in every place we stop to visit? How come she didn't call the guards the moment you entered?"

"She's an old friend, and she kinda owes me a favor." Flynn answered bluntly, not nearly satisfying her curious need for a more elaborate answer.

"What kind of favor?"

Flynn heaved a heavy breath, his hand rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "It was a long time ago. It really doesn't matter anyway."

But her curiosity had been piqued and she wasn't giving up on getting some answers out of him. She had many questions to ask. And there was a particular one that was barely restrained at the tip of her tongue. "Okay, well then who's Greta?" There, it was out, she'd said it. She hoped Flynn wouldn't react too badly to her prying curiosity.

He stiffened at her question, his eyes widening for a second before he averted his gaze. "She's... Someone."

Well duh. "I take it she's one of your lady friends?" She insisted, not quite prepared for the slight twist in her stomach when she mentioned it. Flynn shook his head, his hand coming to rub the bridge of his nose.

"Well... Sort of... Not exactly." He let out a sigh, his mouth twisting in contemplation. Finally he settled for a simpler answer. "She's Mrs. Maldine's apprentice."

"Oh." She waited a moment, pretending not to be too eager to find out more about that story. "So, how did you meet them?"

"Like I said, it was years ago." He didn't seem too eager to share the story with her, but she waited patiently for him to continue, staring intently at him in a way that clearly stated she was waiting for more than just that simple answer. Flynn let out a regretful sigh. "I was sixteen at the time, I wasn't even a thief back then. I actually had just managed to get a job, and my boss sent me to MistHaven to run some errands for him. However I didn't quite get there. I got ill on the way over here and passed out in the middle of the pathway just before I got to the village."

"Mrs. Maldine and her apprentice found me. They took me in and took care of me while I recovered, even though they barely had enough for themselves. Back then Mrs. Maldine was struggling to make ends meet. The business wasn't exactly doing good and she had no money to pay the taxes needed to keep her shop. And even so, she still took me into her home and let me stay until I got better." Flynn scratched the side of his ear in a somewhat embarrassed gesture. "So I decided to help them. I had some money at the time, and I gave them all I had, which was just about enough to help them cover the debt to save the shop. Later on they found out the money wasn't exactly mine, but my boss's. That was the money I was supposed to use to buy the material needed in the smithy I worked in back then. Needless to say I lost my job, and my good name."

Rapunzel was stunned into silence. When she'd asked she hadn't exactly been expecting a story like this. She was more than a bit amazed, to say the least, by the fact that Flynn had somehow managed to find a new way to surprise her again. Huh, so by the looks of it, he wasn't exactly as selfish as he appeared to be.

She wasn't sure what to say to that, so she settled for something simple, hopefully that would manage to lift the heavy atmosphere that had suddenly settled between them. "Huh, you seemed like a nice guy back then. Whatever happened to you?" She smiled teasingly to which Flynn responded with a smirk of his own.

"Life tends to be a bitch, Blondie. You'll find out along the way." He bumped his shoulder against hers playfully, which she promptly returned.

"Oh, I think I already did."

It was that moment that Mrs. Maldine chose to reemerge from the depths of the back of her shop, carrying a bunch of dresses in both of her arms as she approached her with hurried steps.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, I wasn't sure what size would fit you dear, so I took a bunch of different dresses in different sizes for you to try and see which fits best." The woman smiled kindly as she directed her towards the left side of the shop, nodding towards a small screen and floor-length mirror in the corner. "You can change in there and see for yourself which one you like best." Mrs. Maldine gingerly placed the bunch of gowns over the side of the screen for her to reach easily and stepped back.

"Well then, I'll leave you to it while I go look for more dresses at the back. I'm sure I have a few more that you may like in the storage room." With that, the dressmaker disappeared once more behind the curtain, leaving Flynn and Rapunzel to fend for themselves once more.

Rapunzel coughed awkwardly, looking around and thanking her luck that the shop was empty save for Flynn. "Well... I'll just..." She pointed towards the changing screen and practically jumped behind it before the situation could get any more awkward. She let out a soft sigh as she exchanged a look with Pascal, who seemed slightly amused by the whole exchange. She lowered him onto the stool placed in front of her and shrugged off her oversized cloak, carefully hanging it over the side of the screen next to the pile of dresses the dressmaker had previously placed there. She tried not to think about Flynn's silhouette, which she could clearly make out from across the screen, as she gingerly removed her torn up dress, letting it fall disgracefully to the ground around her feet. She stepped out of the pile of now useless cloth and selected the first dress her hand made contact with. It was a simple lavender summer gown, with short sleeves and a skirt that didn't appear to be too big. She carefully slipped inside it, having no difficulty in doing so up until the point where she realized it was laced at the back.

Rapunzel let out a soft grunt as she tried to take the ends of the laces in her hands. Perfect, now was the perfect time to try on a dress that couldn't be laced at the front. She spent a few agonizing minutes trying to find the minuscule eyelets in to which to insert the lace without success. Finally giving up on the task, she decided to leave this particular gown out of the question and go for another one, otherwise she'd spend the rest of eternity trying to lace up her own dress. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as an unpleasant feeling akin to dread settled deep inside her when she realized the next gown was, much to her misfortune, also laced at the back.

Rapunzel tried to calm her own frantic breaths as she slowly came to the painful realization that each dress she took was equally laced at the back. Not a single one from the dresses Mrs. Maldine had brought for her had the laces at the front. She mentally kicked herself for the fact that, in all her years, she'd never had the need to lace up her own dresses. Her lady in waiting had always helped her into her elaborate gowns, helped her lace up her painfully tight corsets and then tied the intricate set of ribbons and laces at the back of her dress. This time, however, it wasn't as if she could ask Mrs. Maldine for help, considering she was currently not wearing her cloak and there was nothing helping her hide her true identity.

She bit her lip anxiously, coming to terms with the fact that she had no other option but to do this on her own and succeed, or else she would end up walking out the store in the same torn up dress she had come in. Bracing herself for a frustrating task, she set to work, carefully feeling for the painfully minuscule eyelets at the back of the dress with one hand while taking a hold of the too-thin laces with the other.

Minutes ticked by, and while she'd actually managed to insert one end of the laces through one of the eyelets, she was making absolutely no progress at all. After much struggling and a perpetual numbing pain that was now throbbing over the length of her arms, she had only managed to make a huge mess out of the laces, which were now tangled into what felt like a horribly huge knot.

Grunting in frustration, Rapunzel tugged forcefully at the ends of the laces in vain. The knot only seemed to tighten instead of loosening a bit. Oh wasn't this just perfect? The last thing she needed was to make an even bigger mess out of her already complicated predicament. She genuinely wanted to cry out of sheer desperation.

Pascal shot her an apologetic look as she felt her eyes widen in distress. What was she supposed to do now? The laces were tied into a terrible knot and she could neither attempt to lace up the dress nor take it off. She couldn't possibly ask Mrs. Maldine for help and she couldn't exactly waltz out of the shop with the laces of her dress half done.

That only left her with an excruciatingly horrible option that might as well be as terrible as the other possible outcomes for the situation. She slapped a hand to her forehead, squeezing her eyes shot as she stomped a feet against the floor in frustration. How could this be happening to her?

"Oh, God nooo!" She moaned pitifully as she tugged at the ends of the laces in vain. The knot was not coming off no matter how hard she tried.

"Everything alright there?" Flynn's voice asked from the other side of the screen. He had probably been listening to her incessant struggle as if she had actually been fighting with the dresses instead of trying them on. It was all she could do not to burst into tears out of frustration.

"No!" She whined pathetically, finally giving up and slumping against the adjacent wall, arms hanging limply at her sides in defeat.

Flynn seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. "Need any help with that?"

Even though she couldn't see anything but his shadow awaiting at the other side of the screen, she could hear the unmistakable hint of that trademark teasing smirk in his voice. He clearly wasn't expecting to receive a positive answer.

"No!" Rapunzel grunted, refusing to even remotely accept the idea of her only other option to save herself the humiliation of walking out the dressmaker's shop wearing a half-laced dress. She gave another sharp tug at the laces, and felt the knot at the back of the dress tangling even more. She lifted her hands up to her face, covering herself out of utter embarrassment before mumbling out her change of mind. "...yes."

There was a moment of silence, and then; "...what?"

She let out sigh, bracing herself for the utter and imminent end of her dignity. "Could you maybe... come here and help me with something?"

There was no response for a moment as Flynn apparently seemed to hesitate with his answer. "Um... I guess..."

There was a shuffling sound as his shadow seemed to grow with every step he took closer, until he cleared his throat awkwardly right before he crossed the screen. "Um... May I...?"

Rapunzel merely grunted in response, far too humiliated to utter a single word. She avoided eye contact as soon as he stepped across the changing screen. "So... what's wrong?"

"I have a little... problem with the laces of my dress." She muttered, turning around to expose the apparent problem to him. She almost wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole in that instant.

Flynn let out a low whistle. "Good Lord, Blondie, how would you even do that?"

"Do you mind?" She could feel her cheeks heating up in what surely must have been a bright crimson blush. Flynn didn't answer, but merely stepped closer to her until she could practically feel the heat of his body radiating off of him.

Her shoulders tensed up as she felt him already working on untying the tangled mess she'd made out of the laces of the dress. Surprisingly enough, it didn't take him long to manage to work out the huge knot she had previously made, and soon enough he was busying himself with carefully tying up the laces up the length of her back.

She could feel his quick dexterous fingers working on the laces with an easiness she found slightly surprising. He was in such close proximity she could actually feel his warm breath against the skin at the back of her neck, making goosebumps appear in her flesh and a shiver run down her spine that she couldn't quite manage to suppress.

She found this whole situation embarrassingly humiliating and painstakingly enticing at the same time. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was well aware of the utter inappropriate and scandalous nature of her current predicament, yet there was a secret part of her brain -which she was trying her best to ignore- that couldn't help but find the idea temptingly... interesting.

Her breath suddenly caught in her throat as she felt his fingers accidentally brush against the skin of her back while he finished tying the last part of the laces just below her shoulder blades. She would forever deny her heart actually skipped a beat at the feeling of the warm skin of his hands making contact with her back.

"There. All done." Flynn stepped back as soon as he finished, his hands never lingering a bit longer than absolutely necessary over her body, never taking advantage of the situation. She was mildly surprised by his chivalrous behavior, which contrasted heavily with that roguish vibe he gave off and his usually flirty demeanor. But then again, there was apparently a whole other facet of Flynn's personality that she was slowly beginning to discover, like finding the pieces of a large complicated puzzle that she couldn't quite solve yet.

"Thank you." She slowly turned around, her cheeks still warm as that same feeling of embarrassment lingered in the pit of her stomach. Her courage seemed to have left her along with her dignity, and she found herself unable to look at Flynn in the eyes again. She settled for setting her eyes over a particular spot in the wall across from him. "So... What do you think?"

She caught a glimpse of his crooked smirk as he answered. "Well, it certainly does look much better than the one you had before."

Rapunzel felt the corners of her lips lifting up in a small smile. "Really? You think so?"

"Why don't you look for yourself?" Flynn set his hands over her shoulders and gently turned her around to face the floor-length mirror, allowing her to glance at her own reflection. She felt her smile widen at the sight awaiting her.

The dress was simple enough, soft and light and everything she could have never worn back in the palace. She allowed herself to twirl in front of the mirror, loving the feel of the skirt easily moving in perfect sync with her. For the first time in what felt like forever, she actually felt completely comfortable and at ease with her outfit. No more long heavy skirts that made her legs feel like lead whenever she walked, no more uncomfortably tight corsets that squeezed the air out of her lungs, no more extravagantly elaborate gowns too large for her to move comfortably around.

For like the first time ever, she was completely free.

And she was intent on making the most of it for as long as it lasted.

* * *

Rapunzel had to admit she had been worried for a moment that her freedom would actually last the entirety of a single day. When Flynn said the difficult part would be getting those letters of transit, she hadn't actually thought it would prove to be _that_ hard.

After exiting the dressmaker's shop not before having a much heated augment with one stubborn Mrs. Maldine, who refused to accept any form of payment for the dress Rapunzel had acquired despite their continued insistence, they finally set on their search to find the man Gustav had told them about.

Finding his small workshop near the docks hadn't been the difficult part, they actually stumbled upon it pretty easily. No, no, the hard part proved to be convincing the man of giving them the documents needed to grant them passage outside Corona. Needless to say they spent at least two hours arguing with the stubborn man.

Angus was his name, and Rapunzel was convinced she had only ever met people as stubborn and infuriatingly disagreeable as him when meeting the members of Corona's Royal Council. The man just wouldn't agree to a single one of Flynn's proposed deals, which was surprising on itself considering Rapunzel had seen Flynn's skills in action and she could tell there were only a few counted people that managed to resist his well-thought arguments and intricate manipulative skills. Angus, however, found a fault in every single proposition Flynn threw his way, from the destination he could provide for them to the kind of boat they would be traveling in.

Flynn proposed getting them a merchant vessel, Angus said the most he could grant them was a relatively small trade boat. Flynn wanted their destination to be the kingdom of Cygnus, Angus argued there were no trips headed there until next week and the most he could offer them were the letters of transit that allowed them passage to the island of Helleria, a few miles away from Corona -actually so close to the kingdom that it was often confused as Corona's territory. Flynn suggested -through gritted teeth- leaving preferably by sunset that very same day, Angus said it was impossible, there were no more ships setting sail until the next morning at dawn.

How Flynn had managed to figure out Angus' game, she would never know, but after at least an hour and a half of arguing and the man constantly dismissing their every suggestion, Flynn had finally caught onto the fact that what the infuriating man wanted was a considerably larger sum of money. A quite large amount that, unfortunately, they didn't possess. That was at least another half hour of Flynn haggling and attempting to hustle the man into giving them exactly what they requested for a much more reasonable price, to which Angus wouldn't concede. Eventually, she had finally grown tired of their seemingly endless discussion and proceeded to take matters into her own hands.

She still had one last remnant piece of her life in the palace. She figured it might as well come in handy now that they needed it. After all, they would be far more useful for this than for pettily adorning her ears, so she carefully took off her earrings, which were made out of precious sapphire stones and a pattern of little diamonds surrounding them, and offered them to the greedy man before them.

Flynn's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he realized just what she was offering in exchange for those transit letters. Angus, quite obviously, instantly accepted the offer without a second thought, already preparing the documents needed to grant them passage outside the kingdom, however Flynn argued that those earring were worth far much more than what Angus could ever offer them. Unfortunately, after seeing what Rapunzel was willing to offer, Angus refused to accept any other form of payment. That had been the beginning of a whole other discussion.

Finally, after much arguing and discussing Flynn managed to find a way to convince the man to give them the transit letters for another price that weren't Rapunzel's very expensive earrings. He offered Angus the horse they had stolen earlier in the morning, and additionally a small sum of money, and warned the man that either he accepted the deal or he would pretty much be left with nothing, after all Flynn was the best thief in the kingdom, he'd surely find a way to get those letters of transit without Angus' permission anyway.

The man reluctantly accepted the payment they offered, and now here they were, finally exiting Angus' shop with the much needed letters of transit clutched triumphantly in between Flynn's fingers.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we did it! We have passage outside Corona!" Rapunzel bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet as she regarded Flynn with a huge smile on her face. "We're finally leaving the kingdom!"

She couldn't hold back the elated squeal that left her lips, and before she knew it she had her arms around Flynn's waist, squeezing him into an excited hug. She hadn't even processed what she had just done until he felt him stiffen uncomfortably beneath her arms.

"Oh! Sorry." She jumped away, her cheeks burning in embarrassment as she nervously curled her fingers around a lock of hair. "I got excited for a second."

Flynn's face was a perfect mask that betrayed no emotion, however he blinked his slightly widened eyes a few times as if he had just realized what exactly had occurred in the past ten seconds. His lips lifted into a partially awkward half smile as he waved her off dismissively. "We should get ready to board our ship, actually. We're leaving just before sunset, better get going."

After a quick meal at the local tavern near the docks, they were finally preparing themselves to board the ship that would take them far away from Corona. The sky was slowly tainting a variety of pink and orange hues as the sun slowly made its descent over the horizon. Rapunzel talked excitedly with Pascal about the experience of their first trip outside Corona ever while Flynn carefully examined the information on the documents Angus had provided for them with their fake identities. Apparently, they were a young newlywed couple traveling abroad to visit some relatives in the kingdom of Cygnus. Edward and Elaine Sinclair were their fake names, which Rapunzel supposed where easy enough to remember. To grant them passage aboard the huge merchant vessel Flynn had requested for, Angus had manipulated the information with the pretense that Mr. Sinclair was one of the employees in charge of overseeing the safe transportation and trade of the vessel's cargo. Everything had been meticulously planned for their success.

Rapunzel felt a slight twist in her stomach that she couldn't quite place as either anxiety or excitement. Her heart beat a frantic staccato against her ribcage as they slowly approached the imposing merchant ship. She watched curiously as sailors worked tirelessly loading the large vessel with enormous boxes of different sizes, walking hurriedly across the gangplank that communicated the ship with the dock while carrying various boxes or large bags. She noticed a pair of men overlooking the work, strategically standing on each side of the loading entrance with a parchment in their hands as they seemed to be examining a few documents with great care.

Flynn and Rapunzel walked across the gangplank side by side as inconspicuously as possible, trying their best to blend in with the crowd of sailors and remain relatively unnoticed. However, they were still stopped by the two men standing guard at the very end of the plank.

"Excuse me, sir!" One of the men called out just as they were setting foot on board. "Documentation, please."

She felt the breath leave her lungs, her nervousness getting the best of her as the two men approached them hurriedly. Flynn's face was, as always, a mask of perfectly calm nonchalance.

"Right." He smiled pleasantly as he handed them the fake papers, as if they weren't trying to stowaway. "Here."

One of the men snatched the letters of transit hastily off Flynn's hand and examined them carefully while the other traced his eyes over them with slight suspicion. "Names?"

"Edward Sinclair, and this is my wife, Elaine." He gestured towards Rapunzel. She didn't know if it was her own paranoia, but she could swear one of the man's eyes lingered over Flynn's features. "Wait a minute, you seem familiar."

She felt her heart almost stop in her chest as the other man currently checking the letters of transit snapped his head up, his eyes narrowing skeptically.

"Well, I'm sorry, I don't think we've ever met." Flynn answered not missing a beat, his voice not betraying even the slightest hint of uneasiness.

"No, you're right. He does seem familiar."

"He kinda looks like that guy in the wanted posters." One of the men commented. Rapunzel's heart leapt to her throat when the other sailor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Flynn Rider, isn't it?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, that's ridiculous!" Flynn scoffed, perfectly making the part of the offended innocent citizen being confused by a wanted criminal. "You really think if I was, I'd have perfectly legal documents stating that my name is clearly _not_ the one of a wanted criminal?"

This seemed to successfully throw off the two sailors, who exchanged a contemplative look as they examined the letters of transit once more. "Look at the name! Edward Sinclair, you daft pair of incompetent idiots."

"Yeah, I think he's telling the truth." One of them mumbled with a hint of embarrassment clearly evident in his voice. "Besides, his nose doesn't look anything like the one in the wanted posters."

"The nose?" Flynn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The other man pointed towards something over their shoulders as he nudged his companion, trying to direct his attention towards whatever he was pointing at. "See? Over there, his nose is nothing alike."

Both Flynn and Rapunzel whirled around, looking over at the direction the sailor had previously pointed at. Rapunzel caught a glimpse of Flynn's completely appalled expression out of the corner of her eyes as her hands flew up to cover her mouth in an effort to restrain her laughter. There, hanging right in the middle of a large stake at the dock was a perfectly visible wanted poster depicting none other than the infamous Flynn Rider. The sketch provided a detailed accuracy in his features, all but with the exception of his nose.

"You're right. That poor Rider fella sure has one hideous nose." One of the sailors commented as they all regarded the wanted poster. She hadn't seen Flynn look more offended in the brief time she'd known him.

"That's...!" Flynn whirled around to face the two sailors, suddenly cutting himself off as he seemed to realize he had virtually no right to be offended by the wanted posters. "That's right. Clearly _my_ nose isn't that horrible. I've never in my life been more offended."

Rapunzel had a feeling he was not exactly talking about the two sailor's apparent confusion. They both looked apologetically at him as they handed him back the transit letters.

"We're deeply sorry for the inconvenience, sir." Flynn snatched the documents with an air of petulance, his eyes distractedly drifting back towards the offending wanted poster. "Welcome aboard the _Ocean's Song_."

Rapunzel thanked them with a polite nod of her head, quite surprised by the two sailor's gullibility, while Flynn walked further over deck, his mouth pursed in a disgruntled frown. She followed silently behind him, waiting until the two sailors standing guard at the base of the gangplank were safely out of earshot. "Well, those wanted posters certainly do you justice."

Flynn rolled his eyes in annoyance. "They just can't get my nose right!" He crossed his arms over his chest in a childlike gesture, like a kid throwing a tantrum. "You'd think with the amount of money they have, they'd at least hire a decent artist to paint the most infamous criminal's wanted posters, but nooo!"

Rapunzel couldn't hold back an amused giggle. Flynn shot her a dirty look, clearly offended by her amusement, and opened his mouth ready to retort when the shout of one of the sailors interrupted his reply.

"Unfurl the sails and weigh the anchor! Get ready to set sail!" At the command, a stream of prepared sailors instantly set to work, each deftly taking up their assigned tasks without hesitation.

Rapunzel's breath caught in her throat, her stomach feeling up with butterflies as she saw the sails unfurling and blowing up in the wind. The sea breeze blew against her cheeks, the salty air filling her lungs as she inhaled deeply.

"We did it, Flynn. We are finally leaving!" She squealed excitedly, this time preventing herself from throwing her arms around him in her excitement. Flynn's lips lifted into a small smile, although she had the feeling he was more amused by her own elation than excited about their imminent voyage.

Pascal squeaked happily from his spot on her shoulder and she lifted the tiny chameleon in her hands, softly stroking his tiny head as she gave him a radiant smile. "This is it, Pascal. We're _finally_ free!"

As the marine breeze blew against her hair and tiny droplets of salty water brushed her cheeks, she let out an excited giggle. She could feel it in her bones, rushing through her veins and brushing her skin; the feeling of freedom she had longed for her entire life. So this was it, this was how it felt like to be rid of her past, her noble title and her obligations as a crown princess, this was how it felt to be free of the clutches of the Council's decisions and the judging stares of her tutors, if only for a little while. Here, in the vastness of the world beyond Corona, she was finally able to be Rapunzel, _just_ Rapunzel. A girl with a dream she was intent to conquer.

This was when her life finally began. And she could not wait to live it to the fullest, no matter how little it lasted.

* * *

 **So, we finally got a few glimpses of Eugene's persona hiding somewhere in there, and a bit of interesting backstory. Anyone else interested about Flynn's mysterious past?**

 **Also, we seem to have a slight improvement in Flynn and Rapunzel's relationship. Guess we'll have to wait and see how they interact along the trip abroad the kingdom.**

 **As always, I'd love to see what you think about this chapter, so don't hesitate to leave a review with your opinion and any predictions you might have about the next chapter. I'm always glad to receive feedback.**

 **I'll try to update as soon as possible but my schedule is a bit tight, so please bear with me and I assure you, you'll have another good chapter soon enough.** **Until next time :)**


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